This is what happens when you fall in love
by Eileen Stardust
Summary: Sequel to "When You Least Expect", telling the story of how Tristan's best friend Justin fell in love with Amy. This is their love story. It starts in the middle of WYLE, but with a different point of view, and a few companion pieces for "When You Least Expect". I hope you like it.
1. Those mesmerizing green eyes

**A/N: A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

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The first time he saw her she was waiting outside Colonel Cluster's office. Justin had just stepped out and was holding the door for Tristan, who was still inside. They had just been briefed on a mission and Justin was in a hurry to get started. They would be leaving that same night, and would probably stay abroad for a week, if all worked out.

She was sitting in one of the chairs adjacent to the door. She looked like she was sitting there for a while, flipping a magazine and scanning her whereabouts. She tapped her feet a couple of times, but quickly stopped herself, probably not wanting to sound nervous. Her eyes suddenly came across the soldier holding the door. He was one of the Lieutenants on Cap. DuGrey's unit. Justin… something. Wow, he was good looking. Meyer. That was it. Meyer. She wondered where she had seen him before. She remember seeing Tristan in Connecticut, on Jake Matthews party. Yes, that's right. His wife, Rory, was one of Jakes' friends. _Oh well,_ she thought, with a smile, _looks like he also likes what he's seeing._

Justin discreetly checked her out while holding the door. Dark wavy hair pulled in a messy ponytail with mesmerizing green eyes and white-porcelain skin, which were a stark contrast to the black suit she was wearing. At least he thought he was being discreet, until he caught the smirk aimed at him. He offered a smile in lieu of a greeting, and was awarded a beautiful smile in return. He open his mouth to say something, ask for a name or introduce himself when he felt Tristan's arm on his shoulder. He looked back, and Tristan just nodded in the opposite direction.

Before he could say anything, he heard the Colonel's voice inviting her inside. "How are you this morning, Miss Leighton? I hope you didn't had to wait too long, my previous meeting ran a little longer than I expected." The Colonel said. He dismissed Justin and Tristan with but a motion of his head, and moved to hold the door, relieving Justin of his doormen duties, and smiled at Amy's direction. "Please, come in."

"Not at all, Lt. Colonel. I had just arrived when Lt. Meyer stepped out." She said, looking Justin in the eyes, a small smile adorning her lips, while she folded the magazine, putting it back in her purse, got up and stepped inside the Colonel's office. "You're right on time, as always."

Justin was rooted to the spot for a few too many seconds, which Tristan obviously noticed. He kept his arm on Justin's shoulder, and moved him along. He was trying to remember from where he knew that girl: she looked very familiar, and the fact that Justin was openly checking her out made him try even harder. It's been awhile since he last tormented him about a girl. _Right. Connecticut._ He thought. He had seen her when he and Rory went to Connecticut, for Jake's party. _She was a friends of Jake. Reporter? No, she was not a reporter, but they did some work together_. He remembered. _Oh well, Rory would surely remember. Nothing ever escaped her. Well, she knew Justin by name, so they must have had some kind of contact somehow. And what was she doing at Durham base?_

"So, that brunet caught your eyes, Meyer?" Tristan smirked, making a mental note to ask Rory about the girl before he left. "I've never seen you besotted before. Were you mesmerized by Miss Leighton's smile?" He continued, addressing her the same way the Colonel did when he invited her in.

"More like entranced by her body…" Justin tried to deflect. In fact, it was her eyes, her bright green eyes, that caught his attention, and he was not stupid enough to divulge it. It would probably turn their flight in a 'let's mock Justin' fun time, and he was not in the mood for that "I know you're married and all, but you must be blind not to notice…"

Tristan just ignored him, and kept walking. His mind already on the mission at hand. "Find Whyatt and tell him to round up the guys. Wheel's up in 3 hours. I've got to head back home, and talk to Rory. She's not going to be happy that I won't be here in the weekend she finally convinced Lorelai to visit us." He sighed. "Well, at least she won't be alone."

"Sure, I've got it. I'll read them in. Am I going to be running point again?" He asked. He was leading most of their missions for a while. He knew that Tristan had some plans, to move away from the action, since he got married, and the idea of having kids started to get more and more real. Sure, he loved the field, and he was very good in what he did, but there's an innate danger for this profession, and he had a family to think about right now. It was a logic move. And he knew that when Tristan was promoted to whatever was next in line in his career, Justin would be the one leading their unit. He knew it was going to be a big change, and he was more than ready for it.

He had the right training and the right profile for this job. In some ways, much more than Tristan. The Meyers came from a family of long military traditions. His father, his grandfather, his uncles, all of them had served most of their adult lives, making their military careers, whereas Tristan was thrust into military school in his teens, when his father got tired of getting him out of trouble. It was supposed to be a sort of punishment, and he was expected to go back to Connecticut, and follow his father's footsteps in the court of law. But he found a live he never dreamed he could have in the military, and went from spoiled rich kid to respected soldier. He rose in ranking due to his own merit, and he always strived for more. And after being made Captain and gaining his own unit, he demanded the same from his fellow soldiers.

He and Tristan were like brothers ever since he first arrived in North Carolina, going through West Point together, and coming back for their mandatory years of service. The difference in ranking happened after their first tour, but it never bothered them. Even when Tristan needed to pull rank, which was very rare, that didn't bother him. He was happy for Tristan and Rory, his wife, and he would miss having him as his Commanding Officer. He was a damn good C.O. He doubted any other Captain would let him get away with half the things he put Tristan through, and he would surely miss him, but at the same time, he was glad that he too was going to have a chance to lead their unit.

"Positive, Lt." Tristan answered, "And this one is going on your review…" He added, and before Justin could say anything else, he whacked him on the shoulder and got him moving. As if the other times he had been in command of their missions weren't included in his file... "Which reminds me, I still need the report on our last mission. That is also going on your review" He added, and didn't even bother to hide his laughter. If there was something that Tristan hated more than giving speeches, it was the paperwork. He couldn't scape it, but it always gave him great pleasure to review and assess the fellow soldiers from their unit, specially when he was not the one doing the brunt of the paperwork.

Justin just smiled, and went to find Dylan. They would have a little more than three hours to prepare, gather their things and board the plane. Too much to do, too little time. He risked a glimpse on the Colonel's office direction, to see if she was still there, but the door was closed, and their voices were too muffled to get what they were saying. He was intrigued. _Well, well, well…_ he thought _so that beauty knows who I am, and I have no idea who she is… That doesn't seem fair to me._ He started walking, a pensive look on his face. _If she's in the military, she's not stationed anywhere near here, or I would have noticed. Hell, anyone would have noticed her, and talked about her. She doesn't look like a civilian, too. Which only adds to my previous assessment of her? Joint task? Government woman? There were so many options here... Well, I just hope I'll see her around a couple more times._

Justin found Dylan at the gym, and quickly laid out their next mission. While Dylan rounded up the rest of the unit, and prepared their baggage and artillery, Justin studied the documents they were provided with. It was a simple extraction: two CIA operatives who were trying to cultivate assets in Iran thought they were made, and had begun their emergency protocol, which meant no communications through official channels, evasive tactics and a change of location. The CIA had arranged for their extraction when the agency first lost their trail in a small village called Eslamshahr, near Tehran. The two operatives would be expecting an extraction team in a couple of days, before having to change locations again.

Justin sighed, putting the documents away. This was simple enough, and he didn't foresee any problems with this mission. If the two operatives were as smart as they should be, they would lay low until the extraction. He had the layout of the village in details right in front of him, and a couple of possible extraction points were already marked on the map. If everything went according to his plans, they would be back in two or three days. If, by chance, they needed to engage in a fight, or if the operatives needed medical assistance, he knew it would take a couple of extra days to be back stateside, but it all looked very straight forward to him.

He tried to keep his mind in the task at hand, but that beautiful brunet kept invading his thoughts. He couldn't help but imagine if she would be there when they returned, and he would finally have a chance to introduce himself. Maybe even get a phone number. And a hot date. _Jesus, Meyer, get a grip. What are you, thirteen?_ He silently scolded himself. From the way his thought were going, it would look like he hadn't had a date in a while, when in reality he still had to return the last two voicemails from the last girl he took on a date. At that time, he thought that this fling would go on for a while. Unlike most of his friends, Justin was not looking for any serious relationship. He had his job to think about, and relationships were messy. But right now, he couldn't even remember the girl's name.

He shook his head, picked up the file he set on the table, and put it back on the table after a couple of seconds. He had read that thing a couple of times, now. He knew must of the information by heart. He needed to keep his head on the game, but he could not get that girl out of his mind. _Where have I seen her before?_ Suddenly, he remember this best friend's face when they were leaving the Colonel's office, noticing that Justin was noticing the girl. The cogs in his brain started turning, and he stopped dead in his tracks: _why do I have this feeling that DuGrey knows more than he is sharing about who's that girl, and why the hell couldn't he place her… He was sure he have seen her before._ He thought. Well, nothing to worry about, he had close to 14 hours of flight to make Tristan talk.

And if there was one thing he was really good at, was pulling things out of Tristan. Just ask his wife about it.


	2. Chance encounter

**A/N: A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

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As imagined, the mission in Eslamshahr was over and done with within a couple of days. Both CIA operatives were returned to Langley, and were as good as they could be, under the circunstances. Lucky for them they were not spotted and captured. They just needed to lay low and wait for the extraction team. The team found them easily, in the agreed extraction point, and after supplying them with food and water, they were fine. It would have been better if they were able to catch the insurgents, but they would be caught soon enough.

The flight back was very uneventful, aside from Tristan incessant chat about Amy Leighton. Yeah, that was her full name. He was catching up on his reading, since there were a couple of newspaper available on the plane, and there was a New York Times piece about the problems with insurgents in Syria that was very accurate, very well written. So much, that he was curious, and decided to check the author's name. He didn't know the author, but it cited a source, a FBI language analyst specialized in the Middle East: Miss Amy Leighton. He didn't even need a photo to know it was the woman waiting outside the Colonel's office. Suddenly everything made sense.

He just wish he knew how to see her again. He couldn't get those green eyes out of his mind. He knew he could ask Tristan for a phone number, by the way he was nagging him. So far, what he did know about Leighton was that she was based in DC, she worked as a Language Analyst for the FBI. As soon as they arrived back in Raleigh, Justin called one old friend, from West Point, who was currently working for the FBI. He was desperate for more information about Leighton, and he was nothing going to cave and ask Tristan. It just happened that Matt was very happy to pass on the information.

He had worked with Amy Leighton on several occasions, and according to him, she was as good as they get. Apparently, she was the niece of the Secretary of the Defense, so she was very used to the military. She went to Military School most of her life, but since she was very good with languages, she decided to major in English. By the time she was 20, she was fluent in French, Russian and Arabic, and was studying Farsi. She was recruited right after college, and had been with the Bureau ever since. She was very good, and in addition to the work she did as as FBI analyst, she was very sought out by several reporters working on international matters, specially the ones regarding the Middle East, often cited as the source.

She was recently promoted from analyst to agent, having passed her exams. Although she started as a language analyst, she was often accompanying field agents in some missions, and more often than not she was called in to be part of several joint task forces, due to her proficiency in those languages and her skills in combat and with firearms. For her superiors in the Bureau, the combination of all those factors led to the decision to train her.

Matt sang her praises, and was delighted to know that Justin Meyer was interested. Not many people were able to keep up with Amy, but he had a feeling Justin could. So he decided to share: Amy was currently working on a task force in North Carolina, and would spend her days between Raleigh, New York and Washington. So he was bound to ran into her again.

It didn't take very long for that to happen. Justin, Dylan and Andrew decided to go for a couple of drinks in the local bar, after leaving the base. Justin had hand over the paperwork related to their mission, drove Tristan home, to Rory, and follower his friends to the bar. They were sitting at the back, so they all took turns getting their drinks. Lucky for Justin, Amy was seated at the bar when it was his turn to get the beer.

"Amy, right?" Justin asked, flashing his most devastating smile in her direction. "Did everything go well with the Colonel?" He couldn't believe she was there. Talk about luck, right? He'd been thinking about her for some time now, and he was glad that he knew she'd be in town for a while. Well, well, well. He had some time now, to get her to say yes when he asked her out.

"It did, Lt." She answer. "I take it your mission went well, too?" She said, returning the smile, and taking a sip of her beer. She had wondered when he would be back. The Colonel had filled her in, during that meeting, about the mission to rescue the CIA operatives, since she was cleared to know. She, as always, had offered her services, as a language analyst and as an agent, but the Colonel had said she was not needed then. He did wanted to talk to her about an opportunity. He was thinking about putting together a new task force, and he had a feeling she would fit right in.

"Please, call me Justin. We're all off duty now, no need for formalities." He said, and leaned a little closer to her. God, she smelled good. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans, and a dark green blouse. And impossible high heel shoes. If he thought she looked good on that suit from the other day, she was a knock-out today.

"We?" She asked, turning in his direction, and smiling. She couldn't help it. She was falling for his charms, even though she knew better than to get involved with a soldier.

"Me and some guys from my unit are sitting at the back", he motioned to where they were seated. If you want to, you could join us." He invited. "But I'll warn you, they – we - are a loud bunch, specially after a couple of beers, after a long flight.

"That's right. You're Tristan's second-in-command…" She commented. Since she ran into him at the base, she decided to check him out. She called one of her friends from the paper, not wanting to call Jake, for fear that he'd ended up telling Rory that she was checking Justin out. Even though she knew that her best option was Jake, she's settled for Lucy. She didn't know much about Justin, only that they went through Military School and West Point with Tristan, and that they were on the same unit in the Army after that. She knew he was one of the snipers in Tristan's unit, and that they were more than best friends: They were like brothers. She wanted to know a little more about him, but she would need to talk to Jake for that, and she didn't want to do that right now.

"I am. You know him?" Justin asked, getting a little more closer to her. _So, she knows who I am. Interesting_. He wondered if she had checked him out, like he did. He wondered if she was as entranced by him as he was. He didn't really believe in love at first sight, but there was something about Amy that he couldn't shake. He just need to know her.

"I know his wife. We have a mutual friend in Connecticut." She smiled even wider, thinking about Jake. They both looked back when they heard the laughter coming from his table. The offer was very tempting, but she had a long day, and judging from the racket they were making, this was going to be a long night. "But I think I'll pass the invitation. I'm kind of tired today. I think I'll head home." She apologized., and started to stand.

"I can walk you out!" Justin offered, calling the waitress, and asking her to deliver his order to his friends. He knew they were watching, and we could deal with them tomorrow. He just wished the news wouldn't get to Tristan so far. He wanted a couple of days before talking about Amy with him. From the way things were going, he knew that he would need to talk to him. Sort things out.

"Thanks, Justin, but I can manage on my own." Amy retorted. She didn't like it when men implied she couldn't take care of herself. These chivalry always rubbed her the wrong way. She was not a damsel in distress. She was a highly trained agent. She didn't need anyone to walk her to her hotel.

"I'm positive you can, but it would be my pleasure. Come on, I could use a walk. Are you staying close by?" He said, offering his arm like a true gentleman, ignoring the fire in her eyes. He was not going to take no for an answer.

"Just a couple of blocks." She answered, and decided to take his arm. Both of them were surprised by the tingling sensation that occurred when she rested her hand of his arm. She blushed, slightly, and he smirked, before opening the door to her.

They stepped out on the cool evening, and set up a leisure pace. Amy could tell he was interested, so she kept flirting back. She tried not to stare at him too much, using her peripheral vision to check him out. He was wearing jeans and a grey battered t-shirt, very casual. She remember seeing him on base, suited up in his army uniform, and she couldn'r help but think that she much preferred this casual version. Lt. Meyer was a hard man, focused, and very proper. Casual Justin seemed a softer, easier to talk to. Less dangerous.

They flirted back and forth, and they kept talking about mundane things. Amy was not in a hurry to head to her hotel, but she was serious when she said she was tired. They walked slowly, but straight to the hotel. He could tell she was interested, and he was wondering what she would do.

He walked her to the hotel door, and waited to see if she would invite him in. He was not counting on it, and was pleasantly surprised when she held the door and motioned him inside. They took the elevator to the 5th floor, and turned right. He walked her to her door, and before she could open it and get inside, he slowly pulled her to him, and took a lock of her hair, feeling her soft hair between his fingers. He softly put it behind her year, and lightly touched her face. He was about to close the distance, thinking of at least kissing her goodbye, but he decided to wait. He was a gentleman, after all.

"So, can I see you again? How long are you going to be in town?" He asked, without even trying to hide the desire in his eyes.

"I… Ah… I'll stay for a couple of days, and head back home next week." She said, entranced by the dark look in his eyes. She knew she should move, but was unable to do that.

"So, can I take you to dinner tomorrow night?" He smiled. He was so close, that if she moved, his lips would be on hers. But his eyes, his eyes were locked on hers. He fought hard to control his body reaction to her nearness, to hold her stare and not even glimpse a her lips.

"Sure, tomorrow seems fine!" She said. She looked down, and wetted her lips with her tongue. He was standing too close, intoxicating her. But she recovered quickly. _Two can play this game_ , she thought. She leaned even closer, her lips now almost touching his ear.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lieutenant. And I'll even think about letting you kiss me good-night, then." She whispered.

She took a step back, a wicked smile on her face, and opened the door to get inside. She was arrogantly surprised to see the stunned look on his face. But he was quicker than she expected, and before she could close the door, he slipped inside, pressed her to the closed door, his body keeping her in place, and kissed her.

Amy was already thinking that her plans to have a quiet evening were ruined, when he retreated, leaving her dazed and confused.

"Good night, Amy" He said, and stepped out. A big smile on his face. This was going to be fun.


	3. And they meet again

**A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

 **N/A: This is a companion piece to chapter 41 and 42 of When You Least Expect. I'm aware there's some inconsistencies with that story (like, for example, the date before the wedding), but those are very minor changes.**

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He couldn't believe his eyes when she saw her across the room in Rory Gilmore's grandparents' house. His mind went straight back to that dinner they had, a couple of weeks ago. He had taken her out to dinner, to the Italian place down town where his sister works. They had hit it off nicely, talking about almost everything, from school, to work, to mundane things like music, and television.

He was shocked to know about the work she was recently doing, and amazed that she would put herself in that much danger for her country. Not that he didn't do that on a daily basis, but that was different, he was properly trained for that. He didn't think that the FBI put that much stock in training his agents. Call it rivalry or not, when pushes come to shove, he'd stand by his training.

He took her back to the hotel, and she invited him in. They opened a bottle of wine, and kept talking for a while. She waiting for him to make his move, but he was taking too long. She had been called back to DC, and she was leaving tomorrow morning. She had yet to tell him that. So she decided to just make the first move. She put her drink down, and walked to his side. He was sitting at the armchair in her hotel's living room, looking as good as she imagined. She took his glass from his hand, and put it down too.

"Amy…" Justin started, picking up on what she was about to do

"Shhhh…" She said, straddling him, and sitting on his lap on that armchair. Justin took her face in his hands, and looked her straight in the eyes. He could see the desire there, and he knew that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He pulled her to him, slowly, and she pressed her lips to his. The kiss quickly got out of control, and they were both a bit too drunk to go slow. Justin just got up, with Amy in his arms, and she wrapped her legs around him. In two strides he was in her bedroom, pressing her to the mattress and following down with his body.

In a matter of seconds their clothes were scattered through the hotel room, and he was inside her. Their lovemaking was wild and passionate, and he fell sleep in her arms. He got up to an empty room, and a note on the bed-side table, saying she needed to be in DC by ten, but that the room was paid, and he was welcome to stay until mid-day. He sighted, and got dressed, thinking to take a shower at the base. He was already running late, and he didn't want to deal with his friends right now.

Finn brought him back to the present, when he reached their table, shortly follower by his brother Cameron, and Rory's friend from Connecticut. He was seated at the bride and groom's table, with Tristan and Rory, Jake and Juliet when the boys approached.

"Hey, Meyer. How are you mate? I should have known you'd be here." Finn greeted him warmly. "Hey, Cam, look who's here!" Finn told his brother, when the three of them finally joined them at the table.

"Lieutenant Meyer, always a pleasure!" Cameron said, encasing Justin in a man-hug. "How are you, man? Are the others here too?" He asked, thinking about the rest of the team. He had come to know them pretty well after they had saved his life.

"No, Dylan is running the unit from Raleigh, in Tristan's and mine absence. Aaron, Kent and Andrew are in the middle of a war exercise, and Dylan is overseeing them." Justin told him.

"Andrew?" Cameron asked. He didn't remember anyone named Andrew from that Rescue Mission.

"He's the new guy." Justin answered, and looked over Cameron's shoulder, at the two guys that were looking like they were waiting for an introduction. He surmised that the blonde one was Rory's famous ex-boyfriend, and the other one must be one of their friends. He remember that there were three of them, from the stories that Rory used to tell.

"Are you guys joining us? There's plenty at room at the table." Justin asked, politely. "I'm Justin, by the way. Justin Meyer. You must be Rory's friends from Connecticut."

"Meyer, these are my best friends, Logan Huntzberger and Colin McRae. Guys, this is Justin."

Justin thanked the Gods for Finn's and Cameron's intervention, because he needed some time to cool down before going after Amy. There was no doubt in his mind that he would go after her. They talked for a while, and laughed a lot when they all took turns talking about Rory's days in Yale, or in DC. Justin was very happy to see how happy his friends were, but he couldn't help but watch Amy as she talked with her friends too. Finn was the first one to notice Justin was eyeing the beautiful brunet, and motioned to Jake. Jake followed Justin's eyes, and smirked as he saw who he was ogling. He whispered something to Juliet, and got up, walking to where Amy was standing. Tristan watched as Justin got up and followed Jake. _Interesting,_ he thought, but returned his attention to his wife.

"Fancy seeing you here, Soldier." Amy said, when Justin approached her. She had seen him as soon as she arrived, talking to his friends. She saw when Jake's friends approached him, and she watched him laughing and having a good time. She could feel his eyes on her all the time, and she kept her distance. She knew he was mad that she left him at the hotel and sneaked out, and she knew that sooner or later he'd find her. Well, she was right.

"Where else would I be, doll? After all, this is Tristan's wedding party, and I am his best man." He said, trying to keep his tone light. He didn't want to make a scene, after all.

Jake watched them interact, and couldn't keep silent. "You two know each other?" he asked, a small smile on his face.

"We've met, once or twice." Amy said, when Justin only smiled. "It's been a while, Lieutenant."

"Well, I'll leave you two to catch up, then" He said. He passed Justin, and whispered something in his ear, that made Justin laugh aloud. He winked at Amy, and got back to the table, where Juliet was waiting for him. After all, they just got engaged, and he didn't want to leave his fiancé alone for too long.

When they were alone, Justin let her see his displeasure. But she surprised him by smiling. She turned around when the waitress passed behind her, and grabbed two flutes of champagne. She gave one to Justin, and coyly sipped hers. "You're angry," she said.

"That's an understatement." He clipped. "You just left"

"I left you a note." She said, and came a little closer to him, putting her hand on his arm. "If I stayed a little longer, and woke you up, I would miss my flight. My boss would be very unhappy with me." She said, her hands lightly caressing him, her eyes bright with alcohol and desire.

"I do not have an early flight today…" She leaned up on her tip-toes, and whispered on his ear. "We could have all night…"

He caught her arm, trying to steady himself, and keep some distance between them. She was driving him nuts. "I do" he said.

"Well, we should make the most of the night, then, right?" She told him, smirking. God, what is it with man and their values. They always got all flustered when she was the one taking the initiative. Empowered woman, like herself, most often scared man away. But she had a feeling that Justin could handle her just fine.

"I'm staying at Jake's apartment." He said. "Do you know the place?"

"I'll meet you there!" She said, and left him just standing there, looking at her retreating.

He sneaked out, careful not to run into Tristan or Rory. Or Jake. And he made it to Jake's apartment in 15 minutes. He got inside, and smiled, remembering Jake telling him that he'd stay at Juliet's tonight. So he had the apartment for himself. He carefully placed his wallet and keys in the table, and searched for something to drink. He found a couple of beers in the fridge, and popped one open, while he waited for Amy.

He heard the bell ring, and went to open the door for her. He wanted to talk to her, to get an idea of what was in her mind, of where they were going. But Amy had other ideas. As soon as he opened the door, she was all over him, kissing him. He barely had time to close the door, before she crashed him to the closed door, and started to undo his shirt.

He came up for air, but before he could say anything, Amy put her finger on his lip, to keep him quiet, and said. "We have tonight. I wound't waste it talking." She finished with the buttons on his shirt, and her hands went to his trousers. "I want you" she said.

"You drive me nuts, you know." He said, unzipping her dress. She stepped out of her little black dress, to reveal she was not wearing anything underneath it. "God, you're trying to kill me, Leighton?" He said, and quickly inverted their positions, pressing her to the door. She quickly got rid of his trousers, and underwear, and when they were both ready, he picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around him. He shifted his weight, pressing her even more to the door, and quickly entered her. He was past the point of no return, to just fuck her against a door, as If they were a couple of teenagers.

When they came back from their high, he just carried her to the bedroom. It was his turn to drive her out of her mind. He had a feeling that she was used to take the lead in the bedroom department, and he was going to have fun watching her lose her control. He carefully sat her on the bed, and went into the living room for his tie. He came back, and Amy kept her eyes him, curiosity pouring from her green eyes.

He crawled into bed, crawled over her, kissing her stomach, her chest, her neck. He laid her down, and took one of her arms, kissing from her elbow to her wrist, eliciting a moan from Amy's lips. She arched her back, and he kept her in place straddling her, and before she could figure out what he was doing, he had her left arm tied to the bed.

"What the…" she started struggling, but he was too quick, and in a couple of seconds her right arm was also tied up to the bed. "Untie me right now, Meyer." She said, but Justin just smiled. He crawled back, his lips never leaving her body, until he reached her navel.

"No, I want to watch you lose control this time." He said. "I want to watch you struggle, helpless, while I ravish you." He told her, and proceeded to do just that.

By the time he was done with her, it was almost morning, and he had an early flight. He thought he could get a couple hours sleep, before meeting Tristan and Rory at the airport. He watched Amy struggling to keep her eyes open. He kissed her, took her phone from the nightstand, and entered his number. He used it then to call his cell, and save her number on it.

"I don't remember being asked for my number." She said, joking.

"That's good, because I don't remember asking for it." He smiled. "I'll call you," he said.

"Good, I can get used to this," she said, gesturing to the unmade bed. "No one had the courage to tie me up before. I liked it. I like you, Lieutenant." She said, truthfully.

"I like you too, Leighton." He said. "Come on, I need a couple of hours of sleep. You're not bailing on me today too, are you? He eyed her.

"Relax, soldier. I'll be right here when you wake up." She promised.


	4. The rescue

**A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

 **N/A: This is a companion piece to chapter 43 of When You Least Expect. I'm aware there's some inconsistencies with that story, but those are very minor changes.**

* * *

They were inside the Colonel's office when he heard the news. He knew, from the start, that her job was dangerous, that he had no business getting involved with her. But he did, anyway. As much as Amy tried to keep him at arms' length, they had been seeing each other since Tristan and Rory's wedding party. Well, a little before that, if you counted that first night. But mostly after the wedding party. He even came to DC, once, to see her, using a Press Conference as a cover up. But almost every night she'd spend on Raleigh, she'd spend on his bed. Sure, she was not there that often, but they were doing this dance for close to 8 months now.

He knew she went to the Middle East a couple of months ago, and he was waiting to hear back from her soon, when she returned. She'd been in Syria for four months now, accompanying two American reporters who were working on a story about some forces that joined ONU on rebuilding schools. So, when they were called to Colonel Custer's office, he had a bad feeling about it.

"Gentleman, I'm afraid I have some bad news." He said, not bothering with a greeting. He just put a file on the table, in front of them. "We've just received words of an ONU convoy being attacked on Syria." He said. "Two reporters and an FBI agent were taken hostage almost five days ago. They are currently negotiating their release."

Justin's face lost all color, and he felt like he was going to be sick. Tristan eyed him closely. He knew something was going on between Amy and Justin, but not the extent of their relationship.

"Do you have their names, sir?" Justin asked, and his voice sounded like he swallowed lye.

"I do not know the names of the reporters, Lt, Meyer, but the FBI agent is the niece of the Secretary of Defense. This is a very sensitive matter. We do not know if the Syrian insurgents know that. Imagine how much leverage that would mean to them." He said seriously. "All information we have is on this file. You'll leave immediately."

"Yes, Sir." Both of them said, and stood up to leave the room.

They boarded the plane after two hours. Tristan didn't even have time to go home to talk to Rory this time. They would reach Beirut in the morning, and go directly to the American base there, to go over their plans again.

Dylan, Aaron and Andrew were catching up on some sleep, but Justin and Tristan were going through the information they had again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tristan asked. He knew that he needed Justin's head on the game, and right now, he was a liability. He needed to know he could count on Justin to do his job, otherwise he would have to bench him, and it would not be pretty.

"Talk about what?" Justin tried to deflect.

"What, do you think I'm stupid or something?" Tristan said, keeping his voice down, but letting some of his frustration come through. "I know you, and I know there's something going on between you and Amy. And right now, I need to know how involved you two are, because her life depends on it." He said, not beating around the bush.

"You think I don't know that?" Justin angrily answered. "No, we're not together, we've hooked up a couple of times. Do you need a date-to-date account too?"

"Look, man, I know you don't want to talk about it, and I don't need to know the details, but I need to know you can do your job properly. If you two are romantically involved…" He tried.

"Romantically involved? Are you kidding me? Since when do you say stuff like that?" Justin tried to joke, but stopped when he saw the look in Tristan's eyes. "Look, is the whole 'me shooting you in the arm and getting pissed at it' going to be a problem here? Because I thought we were past that. I thought you realized after that mess that I can do my job."

"Okay, fine. But I'm watching you, Meyer. If I think you're a liability on this mission, you're going to sit this one out." Tristan said.

"Fine." It was all that Justin said. "We started going out after your wedding. She doesn't want anything serious." He caved.

"And what do you want?" Tristan asked. When Justin didn't answer him, he pressed. "I know you, Justin. I know you're not the 'no strings attached' kind of guy, even if you sometimes pretend to be. Does she know it?"

"No, she doesn't know that. She thinks I'm just fine with the way things are, and that's why this, our relationship, is not going to be a problem. Because it's a non-existing relationship."

"We'll get her out of it, Meyer." Tristan said. "Get some sleep."

They got to Beirut, and the news were not good. The reporters were let go, after a brief negotiation, but they were keeping the FBI agent. They learned how valuable she was to the White House, being the niece of someone high on the command ladder, and they were planning on using her as leverage on their internal war. That was almost 4 days ago.

They though they had a fix on her location, but after they released the reporters, they must changed it. They were back at where they started, and they needed to act fast. The US Government doesn't negotiate with terrorists, and the clock in Amy's life was ticking. This was not going to be a clean and easy mission as they were hoping.

They had changed locations five times now, never staying more than three or four days in one place. They came very close to catch them twice, but they worked fast. It was now almost four weeks since Amy was taken, and her time was running out.

It took them a couple of days, but they were able to track them down, track their movements. They were hiding in the mountains, and they had issued an ultimatum. They wanted the US Troops out of their Villages, or she was going to be executed in one week. Which meant that they had a very narrow window to get her out.

After two days of walking in the Syrian Desert, they reached their hiding place. Dylan and Andrew here sweeping the perimeter, checking any suspicious activity, while the rest of the team waited for any intelligence. They found some movement, and track it to a shack in the west of the village. They radioed it in, and waited for their orders. After a couple of seconds, Justin joined them, his riffle in his hands, followed by Aaron. He positioned himself next to Dylan, and started to assemble his riffle. He got into position and disengaged the safety. Now, he waited for Tristan's signal. He saw some movement inside the shack and put his finger on the trigger. He was ready. Then, they all heard a shot, the sound coming from the house. Justin almost lost it. Tristan gave the signal for them to breach the shack. If Amy had been shot, they would have precious seconds to get to her, and assess the situation, before trying to save her life. If not, shots fired were enough a reason to breach.

Andrew kicked the door open, and Dylan and Aaron walked in, guns in hand. Dylan quickly spotted Amy on the far left. Her left eye was swollen, she had a cut on her forehead, her left arm looked broken, and she leg was bleeding. But she had the gun on her right hand, trained on one of the insurgent's head. The other one was on the ground, with a head wound. She was speaking, probably in Arabic, to the other insurgent.

He had a knife in his hand, fresh with Amy's blood, from the looks of it. She barely glanced at the door, but said, this time in English.

"There's two more in the back." Her eyes never left her assailant, but her hand was trembling. She was trying to keep her broken arm close to her body, but it was getting difficult to do that.

Aaron motioned to Dylan and Andrew to wait and moved to the back. They heard more shots fired, and Tristan's voice asking for a SitRep.

"I'm good" They heard Aaron say on their earpiece. "We're good, Captain." Dylan said. "Two targets down, eyes on the hostage."

Amy lowered her arm, feeling safe now that the cavalry arrived, and swayed on her feet. Dylan made a move to catch her, but saw the insurgent move at the same time. He turned, his gun aimed at the target, when he felt a bullet pass close to his ear and struck the Syrian soldier down. It was a head shot.

"Third target down" they heard Justin's voice on their earpiece. "I need a Medivac right now" he continued, marching into the shack. "Amy's down."

Before Justin could finish talking, Dylan was by her side, feeling for a pulse. "She has a pulse. It's week, but steady." He said, and started to assess her other injuries. "Left arm broken, but it looks like a clean break. Two, probably three ribs are also broken." He continued. Justin was frozen to the spot, unable to do more than look at Amy and hear Dylan talking. "She has a laceration on her right leg, but it's not bleeding profusely. Another lac on her forehead. Her left eye is swollen, and there's a huge bump on the back of her head. We need to check her pupillary reaction, fast". He opened his gear and took some gauze and tape to stop the bleading. "She's unresponsive right now."

They could hear the sound of the helicopter transportation coming close, and after assessing her neck and spine, and founding no more pressing injuries, Dylan picked her up on her arms and went outside. He carried her to the Medivac, and stood aside to let Justin climb up. One of the paramedics told them they were taking her to the base, to check her out and take care of the more pressing injuries, and then she would probably be airlifted to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, in Germany.

She surfaced a couple of times, but the pain probably kept her under most of the time. But one of the times she regained conscience, she was able to tell them that there were 4 of them. One of the insurgents, probably their leader, escaped, as soon as they breached.

Justin passed the news on to Tristan, who gave the order for an offensive SEAL unit to hunt him down. He was waiting for them with the medical team at the helipad. One look at Justin's face told him exactly what he needed to know. He send the army doctors with Amy to one of the medical bays, and kept Justin.

"Please, follow me, Lieutenant." He told Justin.

Justin hesitated one second, but sighed and followed Tristan to one of the offices. Once they were inside, Tristan practically forced him to seat down, and placed a bottle of water to his hand.

Justin took the bottle, drank half of it, before hurling it to the wall. They stood there, in silence, while Tristan waited for Justin to regain his control. After a couple of minutes, Dylan walked in, and told them that there were no more pressing injuries, but that Amy needed surgery to fix her arm. Since it was not a life threatening injury, they could treat her at Landstuhl. She also had a light concussion. One of the doctors was suturing her cuts, but once he was finished, she was cleared for transport. They could see her in a couple of minutes. Some of the tension left Justin's shoulders. She was going to be okay.

Dylan took a seat besides Justin, who still had his head between his knees. He and Tristan exchanged a glance, but said nothing. When he finally lifted his head, Tristan told him what he had learned so far. The three insurgents who had her were dead, and a SEAL unit was hunting the last one. But the Secretary of Defense was not letting her niece unprotected until they caught whoever was behind this kidnaping, He wanted a protective detail on her 24-7, and her boss at the Bureau agreed. The Lt. Colonel wanted Justin to shadow her until she was stateside. And there was nothing that Tristan - or Justin, for that matter - could do about it. He was going with Amy to Germany, and he would be stuck with her until she returned


	5. Safe and sound

**A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

* * *

Amy woke up with a start. She looked around, slowly recognizing the telltale signs that she was in a hospital, but other than that, she had no idea where she was, or how long she was out. She saw Justin asleep in a chair, near her hospital bed, and blinked a couple of times. He looked so peaceful, sleeping, even if he was still clad in his army uniform. Her heart did a little dance inside her chest, but she paid no attention to it. She couldn't. She was ignoring that feeling for some time now, and she would just continue to ignore it for a little while longer, until it all went away. It would go away eventually. It always did. She could not deal with this right now. She closed her eyes for a minute, and opened them again. Yep, Justin was still there. She didn't want to wake him up, especially because she didn't know how long she had been there. She tried to move, and groaned. She looked down, and tried to assess her own injuries. _Okay,_ she thought, _definitely_ _one broken arm, and judging from the tight band wrapped around my chest, a couple of broken ribs._ She felt the curative in her head, and gently probed around her eye. _God this looks bad._ She thought.

"It looks worse than it is" She heard Justin say. She must have said something aloud, damn it. He quickly got to his feet, and helped her sit up a little. He offered her some water, but Amy just waved it away. She tried to clear her head, to think coherently, but she hurt all over. She looked over to him, trying to catch his eyes. She smiled weakly. "Did you catalogue it all, or do you need my help with that?" He asked her. He was trying to lighten the mood, bit inside, he was still seething with anger. Just looking at her injured self was enough to get his blood boiling, and he didn't want Amy to notice that.

"Well, I count one broken arm - obviously; a couple of broken ribs…" She started, but Justin interrupted her.

"Three broken ribs" He said. When she said nothing, he continued. "But they are healing nicely enough. No further broken bones. There's also a cut on the forehead and one nasty cut on your tight. This one, on your tight, got the doctors a little worried. The knife was very, very dirty, there was a high chance of infection, but they pumped you full of antibiotics, and they seem to be doing the trick. You're doing good so far. Better than they expected" He continued. He was looking anywhere but her eyes. "Let me see what else... Ah, yes, a light concussion, to go with that ugly black eye of yours. You hit your head pretty hard. You were out for 4 days, by the way." He paced around a little, and quickly got back to her side. He wanted to hold her hand, but he didn't know if he should, if she would like the touch. "You were lucky."

He kept telling himself that since they rescued her from that shack. She was lucky, she was alive. Battered and bruised, but alive. He never felt so scared in his life. It was when it downed on him that he was in love with her. Until then, he kept telling himself it was just a fling, that it would blow over soon. Nope, not happening. Not anytime soon.

"I _got_ lucky." She corrected him. "They saw some movement outside the window, probably when you guys arrived, and were distracted. One of them..." she gulped, the fear she felt all but washing over her "One of them had just punched me, trying to knock me down. I already had a broken arm, from a previous beating. He had a knife in his hand this time, but I could see the gun tucked on his waistband." She said. She took a deep breath, and continued. "His buddies were occupied, two of them went to the back, and the other one turned to the door. They didn't think I would fight back, or that one guy would not be able to subdue me. I looked around, and I thought, this, this is my chance. I went for the gun. We struggled, he got me a couple of times with his knife, but I got a clean shot. I scrambled to my feet when he fell, and aimed at the other guy. Thank god his reaction time was slow. He could have hurled his knife and kill me while I was struggling with the other guy. Or he could have shot me."

"Do you know how long they kept you there?" He asked, softly. He knew she would have to go through all that again during her debriefing, but he couldn't help it. He needed to know.

"Two or three days this time, I think. No more than that." She said, and closed her eyes. She knew she needed to talk about it. Not only for the mission records, but for herself. "They released the other two hostages on the first week, and they kept moving me around. I think they moved me at least five times. I tried to escape once, the last time we moved. That's when I got my first beating." She continued. "Until then, I hadn't given them a reason to beat me. But at the end of that day, my eye was swollen shut, my arm was broken, and I was hurting all over."

"What happened then?" He gently prodded, when she fell silent. He knew it was important that she get the whole thing out. "Hey, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"They kept me up that night. They had already figured out who I was, that I was related to someone on the American Government, but when I tried to escape, they noticed I also had training. They knew I would try again. They told me that they would kill me, if I tried to escape again. They would kill me if my government didn't cooperate. They would kill me, simply as that. I knew then that I had very little time left. The windown was closing, and they were going to kill me. They kept me up all night, making threats. They, ah… they told me that if I slept, I would wake up with their hands on my body, with one of them raping me." Her voice faltered, and she fought to keep the tears at bay.

Justin didn't know if she would welcome the touch or not, but he needed the contact, so he took her hand. That was her undoing, and she was openly weeping now. He moved around her, and embraced her, holding her as tight as he could without hurting her. After a couple of minutes, the tears subsided, and she pulled herself free. She took a deep breath, and continued.

"So I… I tried to stay awake. The whole time. Every time I closed my eyes for more than a second, I felt their hands on me, and I would struggle even more to stay awake. They laughed every single time. I was thinking that they would soon decide they wouldn't wait for me to go to sleep. I was exhausted by that point. Thank God they didn't bound me." She said. Thinking about it made her shudder.

"But they didn't rape you." He felt the need to ask, although it was not really a question; it was a statement. He was telling her they didn't touch her, assuring her they didn't rape her. She just nodded, and continued on. She needed to get it all out at once, otherwise, the worlds would get lodged in her throat, and she wouldn't be able to talk at all.

"After a while, I heard them talking that they would execute me within the week." Her eyes were starting to tear up again, and she hastily dried them. "I knew I had to do something, soon. Then, we all saw some movement outside. They were distracted."

"You saw an opportunity, and you took it." He said, "You would have made it out of there, even if we hadn't breached that shack." He told her.

"Yeah, and they would have shot me in the back on my way out." There was no way she would be able to get out of there alive, if it weren't for them. Not in the state she was in. And even if she managed to get out alive, where would she go? How far would she be able to walk before collapsing, with three broken ribs and a concussion? No, she had no chance to get out of there alive, and she knew it.

"You saved my life. You were the one who shot him, right?" She asked, but she already knew it was him. He was the only one, besides Tristan, that was not inside the shack when it was over. And she knew that someone would be running the intelligence point of that rescue mission. That would definitely be Tristan, it was his thing. Which left only one person who could have taken that shot. Justin.

"I was just doing my job." He said, trying to be humble. "You're okay now. You know where you are?" He asked her, trying to change the subject. He didn't feel like a hero today.

"Other than a hospital? No…" She said. "Why are you here? Don't you have to return to the base?"

"You're in Germany, at Landstuhl Medical Center. You'll probably going to stay here for one more week, at least. They want to keep an eye on your concussion, and on that broken arm, and make sure no wounds are infected, and then you'll be transported to Walter Reed." He said, ignoring her questions.

"Good, I'll be able to go home after that, then. When are you leaving?" She asked, thinking about her apartment in DC. And thinking about putting some distance between herself and Justin.

"I'm not. I'm staying here with you until they transfer you to Walter Reed. And you're not going home, doll. Once you're cleared to go home, you'll be staying in North Carolina." He told her, wanting to get that part of the news over and done with. He knew she was not going to like it, and he had no intention of getting in the middle of this fight.

"What? I don't need a baby sitter!" She exploded. How dare he suggest she needed taking care of. She was a highly trained operative, she could take care of herself. "I can take care of myself."

"Well, your're welcome to tell that to the Secretary of Defense, you know, the one you call uncle. And the Deputy Director. And the Colonel." He told her. "According to them, you're under protective custody until they catch that last insurgent involved on your kidnapping. Personally, I agree with them. You're still in danger, they could still come after you." He was trying to control his anger. Just the thought of Amy in danger was enough to awaken a white rage inside of him. He felt almost out of control. "I am not saying you can't take care of yourself. I know you can, under normal circumstances. But this, this is not normal circumstances. There's nothing normal about it." He said, trying to diffuse her anger. "They are relocating you to the Charlotte office, temporarily, but you'll be working from the army base on Raleigh. And you're getting a safe house. You'll be all moved in as soon as you decide to get back to work. We could spend some time in DC before that, if you want. But you're coming to North Carolina with me."

"No, I'm not." She argued, and looked around for her phone. She found it next to the hospital bed, and shifted around to reach it. She hissed in pain, and grabbed her sore ribs. In less than a second, Justin was beside her, helping her lay down again. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. He knew it was futile to argue with her, so he just handed her the phone.

"You need to take it easy." He told her, not in the mood to get into a fight, not now, not over this. "Go ahead, call it in. But your boss is going to tell you the same thing I just told you. You're coming home with me, and you're getting a protective detail."

She did, she called her boss at the Bureau, and when that didn't do the trick, she called her uncle. But no matter how much she yelled, how much she argued or pleaded with them, they didn't back down. She was really going to be temporarily reallocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. Damn it, she was going to be stuck with protective detail.


	6. That last night

**A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

* * *

She was being released from Walter Reed Army Medical Center today, after being under observation for a couple of days. She was more than ready to go home, after almost 4 months. Tristan and Justin were also in DC; apparently, the President would be addressing their mission on a press conference this morning, and Justin was going to do a speech or something. He had not left her side since Syria. After that press conference, they would both go home, to North Carolina. And she was finally going to be left alone.

Justin drove her home after his speech, but he barely talked to her. She thought that he would just walk her to her door, like the gentleman he is, and be gone. Of course not: he insisted on coming inside, and sweeping her apartment. She thought he was being paranoid; she was a long way from Syria after all. When she asked about it, he said he was just following orders. Apparently, Justin was not the only one who thought she needed a baby sitter; both the Deputy Director and the Colonel agreed that she was still in danger. She watched him as he cleared her tiny apartment: he looked all professional now, moving without making a sound, a pistol in his hand. She noticed his finger was not on the trigger, though. She sighted, trying to ignore the feelings he could awake in her. They hadn't talked about their relationship, or lack thereof, since she woke up at the hospital. He was clearly pretending that nothing ever happened between them, and she had been more than happy to oblige.

But now, now they were not at the hospital, or at the Bureau, or surrounded by his army buddies. They were inside her apartment, in Washington, and she was having all sort of nutty thoughts about him. She felt her stomach was all tied up in knots, and she was having trouble thinking clearly. She could not stop thinking about their last night together, all those four months ago, and thinking about it was making her all flustered. Justin had just returned to the living room, tucking his pistol in the waistband of his trousers, and one look at her told him everything he needed to know.

He was trying very hard to pretend nothing was going on between them, but the way she was looking at him made his blood boil. _Get a hold of yourself, Meyer,_ he thought, _just walk away. You've done your part, she's safely home, just walk away. Walk the hell away._ Even though he tried, there was no denying the desire, the hunger he was feeling. He was hooked. She opened her mouth to say something, and before she knew it, he closed the space between them and she was in his arms. He kissed her fiercely, passionately. It was like no time at all have passed, and those months when she was in Syria never happened.

He walked them back to her bedroom, and had her naked and under him in record time. He was relentless in his quest to have her again. Their lovemaking was fast, and frantic and very, very passionate. He tried to be gentle, he knew she must still be sore from her ordeal, and her arm was still in a cast, but she didn't want gentleness. She wanted him, plain and simple. They stayed up most of the night, driving each other crazy, loving each other. When she finally dozed off, she slept hard, feeling safe in his arms. She thought they would finally talk about them, but he was gone in the morning. It took Amy by surprise that he would just leave; after all, he had never left her side all this time, since he rescued her from that shack in Syria. Maybe he has just been worried about her safety all this time, after all. They hadn't talked about what was going to happen when she was released from the hospital after that first day in Germany, when it was decided that she was going to be relocated, and put under protective custody; but nothing came out of it, apparently. He was going to be back at Raleigh by late morning, she remembered, and she would go on with her life in Washington.

She got up, made some coffee, and started to unpack her things. The simple task took a lot of time, since her mind was elsewhere. She poured some coffee in her favorite mug, and was almost finished cleaning the kitchen when the doorbell rang. She called "Just a second", rushed to open the door, and froze. Standing on her doorstep were Tristan and Justin, all dressed up in their uniforms, their faces solemn.

"What are you two doing here? Don't you guys have a plane to catch?" She asked, bewildered. She could not believe that Justin was there, in her doorstep, looking like that. What the hell was he doing here? She looked from one soldier to the other, waiting for an answer, but it seems none of them were very keen on talking. "Well?" She repeated herself.

"As a matter of fact, we do, Amy. But you're coming with us." Tristan said, when Justin failed to say anything at all. In fact, Justin hadn't said a word to him since they left the White House, and it was decided that Justin was stuck with Amy. He knew it was not Tristan's fault, but he blamed him anyway. If it were not for Tristan, he wouldn't have hooked up with Amy at his wedding, or after that, and he would not be in this position right now. She would have been a one night stand, and that's that. Yeah, right. Even he didn't believe that. He actually knew that the orders came from higher up, and that unless Tristan said something about their previous relationship, which he knew barely nothing about - other then what he told him on that flight - there was no way out of it.

"You're both crazy. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying in my apartment, and that's final." She stubbornly said, crossing her arms. No, no way in hell this was happening to her. She got the message when he left her sleeping in this morning. He was saying goodbye. He had no business showing at her doorstep and saying she was going anywhere with him.

"We've talked about it, Amy. You knew that you'd be coming to North Carolina with us when you got back". Justin said, when Tristan nudged him. Damn, he was going to be the one to do that, and convince her to go with them, or forcefully remove her.

"We never decided anything. You all thought it was for the best, and nobody asked me." Amy said, stressing the personal pronouns. She still couldn't believe this was happening. Not now.

"Well, it's done. The Colonel put Justin on protective detail, and the Deputy Director and the Secretary of the State felt it was an excellent choice." Tristan said, knowing that his hands were tied, and he had no say about it. Justin had argued fiercely when he was told, this morning, and he did everything he could to get him out of it. But there was no way out of it. Justin was ordered to stay with her, and he would have to do just that.

If he knew that he was going to be the one to shadow her, he would have never spend the night with her. Again. He could not let it happen again. He needed to distance himself from her. She was a job, now. Just a job. A damn bodyguard job. And in order to his damn job, he was going to have to keep his head on the game, and stop thinking about taking her to bed.

Amy was left speechless. When she failed to move, Justin walked past her, and went into the bedroom for her suitcases. She had unpacked, but her suitcases were still beside her bed. She could hear him in her bedroom, moving around, opening doors and drawers.

"I suggest you come pack the things you want to take with you, otherwise you'll be left with what I'm packing for you." He called out.

She looked at Tristan, hoping he would finally come to his senses and dismiss Justin from this duty, but he just shook his head, and moved her along.

"Sorry, Amy, but he's right." Tristan said, and flinched at the daggers coming from her eyes. If looks could kill, he would be dead right now. _This is going to be a long day,_ he thought.

The flight from Washington to Raleigh was a nightmare. Amy refused to talk to either of them, blaming them for her misery; and Justin was not very keen on talking to Tristan too. So Tristan was stuck, on the weekend of his wedding anniversary, with a best friend that was not talking to him, and the girl he fancied who wished they could all drop dead. Well, at least it was a short flight, and Rory was waiting for him at home. Amy spent the whole flight looking out the window, not saying a word. Her whole posture scream 'leave me alone '. Justin would occasionally glance her way, and shook his head. Tristan tried to talk to him a couple of times, but every time he opened his mouth to say something, Justin would just look the other way.

Tristan gave up trying to talk to them. There was nothing he could say to Amy that would not result in more arguing, and there was nothing he could say to Justin that would make this lose the attitude. Well, there were a couple of things he could say, but none in front of Amy. So he just opened up a magazine and tried to read a little.

They would arrive in Durnham-Raleigh International Airport in a few minutes, and then drive straight to Raleigh. The Colonel had rented a house for her, close to the base, all furnished and with all the appliances. The only thing she needed to bring were her personal stuff. It was a small house, but it had a nice porch, and the rooms were spacious.

Both boys made the mistake to think that by the time they reached the house, Amy would be okay with that, but she really wasn't. She came inside the house, barely glanced around, went straight to her new bedroom and shut the door in their face.

"Well, that was nice. She got the bigger bedroom, and I'm left with all the unpacking." Justin complained. He paced back and forth, back and forth. He came to her bedroom door, raised his hand to knock, but gave up before his hand made contact with the door. He did that three times, before Tristan interrupted him.

"Hey, do you need some help moving in? I can give you a hand." Tristan asked, hoping it would actually help to diffuse Justin's anger.

"I think you've done enough." Justin answered him angrily, and just slammed the door in Tristan's face.

 _Well, I am giving those two a couple of days to cool down. If they're still going at it like that, I'll just pull rank again and order Justin to lose the stick up his ass. He'll be furious, as always, but at least he will have to deal with me, instead of ignoring me…_ Tristan thought. This would be a very long week.


	7. Out in the open

**A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

 **N/A: This is a re-write of chapters 44 and 45 of When You Least Expect, a little more from Amy's and Justin's point of view.**

* * *

"Can I ask you something?" Amy asked Rory, while Sarah was filling their wine glasses.

Rory had invited Sarah and Amy over for a girl's night. It had been almost three months since Tristan's unit had rescued Amy from the Syrian militia, and they were still looking for those responsible for her kidnapping. Amy still argued fiercely against needing protection, saying that she was an FBI special agent, and that just because she started up as an analyst, and specialized in linguistics didn't mean she couldn't take care of herself. She had aced all of her combat classes, and she was a great shooter. She even put a bullet on one of the insurgents holding her hostage. But both her boss and Tristan's superiors agreed that she should be placed in protective custody, and have a trained sniper following her everywhere she went.

Both girls knew that Amy was getting anxious and tired of having Justin follow her every move, but Justin didn't really have a choice: he was ordered to follow her around, and he'd do that until they caught the ones responsible for the attack, or until he was asked to stand down. So Sarah decided to talk Rory into a Girls Night In. They would be perfectly safe at Rory's place, and Tristan could keep an eye on Amy in a much more subtle way, while the girls relaxed and drank some wine. Of course, they would have to convince Justin that Amy would be just fine with Tristan looking after her, and Sarah and Rory would have to convince Tristan to stay around, but out of the girls' way, in the first place. But they all knew Rory a way with Tristan, that usually made him agree with whatever she wanted. So there they were.

"Sure, ask away Amy!" Rory answered. She smiled warmly at her new friend, and waited for her to say something. Both Rory and Sarah had become very close to Amy, since she moved to North Carolina. Amy and Sara had met before, through Jake, when Sara and Andrew were still in Connecticut, and Amy was still working closely with some reporters from the Gazette.

"Is Justin always like that?" Amy whispered. She didn't want Tristan to overhear her. She risked a glance at the porch outside, where she knew Tristan was quietly reading a book, trying to give the girls some privacy.

"Like what?" Rory whispered back, narrowing her eyes, and leaning closer to Amy, so that they could continue to talk above a whisper.

"Like, all serious, all work, all the time. I mean, does he ever do anything fun?" She asked, thinking back to the Justin she knew before the whole kidnapping thing.

"Wait. Are we talking about the same person? Because the Justin I know is like, the least serious person I know. He is always making fun of Tristan, or messing with Jake." Rory told her.

"So, it is just me, then." Amy sighed. She had yet to tell Rory about the steamy night she and Justin shared after Rory and Tristan's Wedding Party, or any of the other nights after that. She knew that Tristan knew about it, at least some of it; she had guessed as much from the way Tristan smirked every time Justin looked at her. He had to know that something happened, right? But she knew that if Tristan had told Rory, then Rory would have said something by now.

"Well, it's his job to protect you. And he's very serious about his job..." Rory tried, but even she didn't quite believe what she was telling Amy. Sure, Justin is serious about his job, but that didn't make him a serious person. There must be something else that she didn't know yet. She looked at Sara, willing her to say something.

"It's just... He's taking this very seriously. And every time I try talking to him about something not work related, he just... kind of freezes me out. It's almost like he's afraid of getting closer to me, I mean, it feels like he doesn't want us to get to know each other..." She ranted. She was feeling miserable, and she knew it was starting to show. Plus, she really wanted to talk about what happened between her and Justin, and they were the only ones that knew him a little better, that could give her some perspective. But at the same time, so much time have passed, and she hadn't said anything since she got closer with the girls. She didn't know were to start.

"Wait. Justin? Afraid of getting closer to you? That makes no sense." Sarah said, looking from one girlfriend to another.

"No. We're missing something, Sarah." Rory said, and looked at Amy. The wheels in her head already starting to turn. "We are missing something, aren't we Amy?" Rory smirked, finally realizing what was in front of her. Rory couldn't believe she hadn't seen this coming. It was so obvious it actually hurt.

"You like him!" Rory stated. When she saw Amy starting to blush and look away, she repeated it, more forcefully this time. "Oh my God, you _like_ him!"

"Shh!" Amy shushed her. "Are you nuts? I don't want Tristan to hear that. He already knows too much..." She started, without thinking, and stopped dead in her tracks. _Oooops,_ she thought. _Busted_.

"Too much? Amy, what does Tristan know that we don't?" Sarah asked her.

"Well. I imagine that he knows that Justin and I, well, that we kind of had a... a fling, a while ago." Amy said. There. Out in the open. Sort of.

"How long ago?" Rory asked, trying to put the pieces together. She couldn't imagine anything happening after she was rescued. They wouldn't be so tense if it had. She though that Justin and Amy met during her rescue mission. Since they both worked in the same field, it was possible that they had seen each other a few times before the mission, and since both Amy and Andrew were friends with Jake, they could have run into each other that way. So it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that they had crossed paths before. And of course there was her wedding party. She remember that Amy attended the party, together with some friends from Jake, from the paper.

"Well... we first hooked up a little more than a year ago..." Amy said, thinking about their first night.

"A year ago? And you're just telling me this now?" Rory exclaimed, a little hurt by the revelation.

"Well... it only happened a few times. I mean, after a couple of months, I left to work in Syria for almost 4 months, and then we were attacked. And before I knew it, Dylan was carrying me into the hospital, and bam... Suddenly I need a bodyguard, and Justin jumps at the chance, but it's like... he's a complete different man. He's acting like nothing ever happened between us."

"You're telling me that, before you went to Syria, you two were having a fling, and now he's pretending nothing happened?" Sarah asked, wanting to be certain. The three of them were so engrossed in the conversation that they forgot to keep their voices down so that Tristan wouldn't hear them. But Tristan could hear everything and he was barely paying attention to his book. He hated eavesdropping on his wife's conversation, but since Justin was not telling him anything, well, he had no other choice but to continue listening.

"Yes. Well. Kind off. He drove me home, when I came back from the hospital in Washington, after that speech. And well, we did… he was... it was... raw, and crazy, and wonderful. And when I woke up, he had left. The next thing I know, he and Tristan are at my doorstep, and Tristan is saying that both the Colonel and the Deputy Director agreed that I should be in protective custody, and that Justin's been ordered to shadow me. And now, it looks like... he's acting like nothing happened."

Tristan couldn't believe what he was hearing. He never even noticed that he closed the book he was reading, and turned towards the opened door, where he could see the three women talking. Man, Justin was really, _really_ stupid. Tristan was well aware that Justin and Amy had been seeing each other casually, because, according to Justin, he led a too dangerous life to tie himself to someone.

Which was the biggest bullshit he had ever heard Justin say, especially because Justin was one of the biggest supporters of his and Rory's relationship. It was just dumb on his part to avoid getting involved with anyone. And Amy, well, at least Amy could take care of herself. She's a sharp shooter, she's fast, and most of all, she's brilliant. It was not by chance that she was one of the most sought out agents in the Bureau.

And the worst part was that he couldn't even yell at Justin for being stupid, because he was not supposed to know that he and Amy weren't seeing each other any more. He knew that there was something going on before the mission, but Justin was still implying that there was nothing going on between he and Amy. He argued something fierce when Tristan appointed him as Amy bodyguard, even though he knew that the order came from high up. He couldn't very well ask him if he was still seeing Amy, and he couldn't call him on his stupidity right now. He had to figure out a way to make him talk. He shook his head, and scooted closer to the door so that he could continue to hear the conversation going on.

"Well, I remember seeing you and Justin talking at Rory's wedding party, but I never imagined..." Sarah said, but didn't even finish the sentence.

"I don't believe it. My wedding? I mean, Tristan was bound to notice if Justin just took off..." Rory started, and looked outside, just in time to see Tristan scramble to open the book again. Damn it, he had been listening to their every word, and he didn't even the decency to look ashamed of having been eavesdropping on their conversation.

 _What the hell,_ Tristan thought. The night came to an abrupt stop. Amy was absolutely embarrassed, Rory was scowling at Tristan, and Sara just looked out of place. The girls decided to call it a night, and Rory asked Tristan to drive both girls home.

Tristan whispered something to Rory, before picking up the cars keys, and motioned for the girls to follow him. It was a very silent ride. Amy was embarrassed that Tristan overheard her ranting about Justin, and even though she knew he was aware something was going on between she and Justin, he was also Justin's best friend, and would not break his confidence. And she also didn't want to talk to Sara, because Tristan would hear every word. So she kept silent. Sara kept looking to Amy, willing her to say something, but even though she was good friends with the girls, Tristan made her kind of nervous, being her husband's boss and all.

In fact, Amy was feeling all tied up in knots, and acting weirder than ever. Talking to the girls about her last night with Justin only made her miss him even more. She was feeling miserable, and out of place. Rory was right, she was absolutely head over heels in love with Justin. She couldn't even look him in the eyes when he open the door for her, when she arrived, for fear that he'd see right through her. She was not ready to tell him she loved him, so she bowed her head, and walked straight to her bedroom.

Justin took one look at her, and immediately thought that something was wrong. He looked at Tristan, who just shook his head, and was already coming back to his car. Tristan had already driven Sarah home, and he was anxious to get back to his place and his wife. But Justin decided to ignore Tristan's reticence in explaining what the hell was wrong with Amy, so he just closed the door, and went after his best friend.

"Hey, Dugrey, wait up!" He said, when he saw Tristan getting inside his car again and closing the door. He jogged to the car, and tapped at the window, ignoring Tristan's "I'm-not-in-the-mood-to-talk" dirty look.

"What?" Tristan scowled at Justin, trying to look as exasperated as possible.

"What the hell happened at your place? Amy was fine when I dropped her off." Justin asked angrily. When Tristan just blackened his scowl even more, without answering him, Justin briefly thought that he'd better drop it, but it was already too late.

"Fine? Well, I suggest you get inside, Meyer, and ask Amy what happened. That is, if you're stupid enough not to know why she's not fine." Tristan answered, using his best Captain DuGrey tone of voice, that Justin was more than familiar with, to go with his dark look.

Before Justin could summon up an answer, Tristan closed the window and drove off, leaving a bewildered Justin behind. It took Justin about three seconds to understand what Tristan was talking about. Since they came back from Syria, Tristan was trying to get Justin to open up and talk about Amy, and Justin was doing his best to ignore it – and her.

He was not ready to accept his feelings for her, so he was doing all he could to keep a respectful distance from her, and apart from that first night, he thought he was doing a good job. Maybe he should tell Lt. Colonel Custer the truth about his involvement with Amy and ask for a replacement, thinking that it would be better for both of them if someone else was keeping her safe. Well, maybe not better, but certainly easier.

Justin quietly came inside, set on talking to Amy and telling her that, just in time to see Amy taking her clothes of and putting on a pair of shorts and an old, ratty FBI t-shirt she usually wears to bed. He was frozen to the spot, and as much as he knew that he should look away and respect her privacy, thinking that she mustn't have noticed her door was not fully closed, he couldn't take his eyes off her. "Damn it..."

He knew that he had said it out loud when Amy turned back and their eyes met for a second. He quickly looked away, but not fast enough. He had enough time to notice the enticing blush that covered her cheeks, at being caught nearly naked. Damn it. He was in love with her.


	8. Finally!

**A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

* * *

 _I need to get out of here,_ Justin thought, _before I do something I'll regret._ He walked to the door, opened it and closed it again. Getting out was not going to make it. Maybe it was time he stopped lying to himself. It was obvious he wanted her; deep down he knew he loved her. He walked back into the house, and went into the kitchen, with a new purpose in life.

Amy finished getting dressed, and went after Justin. She had enough of his indifference, and she would get to the bottom of this tonight. She followed him to their tiny kitchen, and watched as he got a beer from the fridge. She thought about asking for one bottle too, but she had already have too much to drink with the girls. _Well, screw it_ she thought _, I'm not nearly drunk enough for this conversation._ She marched to the fridge to get her own beer, and turned around to retrieve a bottle opener from the counter, and almost ran into Justin.

He was leaning against the counter, looking as good as ever, an enigmatic look on his face. She saw the bottle opener on his right side, and made a move to get it. It was awkward, because Justin didn't move at all, and she was practically on top of him. She could feel the heat of his body even without any contact. If she moved an inch, she would be very much pressed against him. She looked up, until she was eye to eye with him, and when she noticed his smirk, she scowled. He seemed to be enjoying both the position and her discomfort. She retrieved the bottle opener and was straightening up, trying to put some distance between them, when he just grabbed her arm to keep her there, making her lose her balance. Since both her hands were occupied, she had no way to regain her balance without pressing her body to his. Which of course was exactly what Justin wanted.

He slowly put his beer down on the counter, without releasing her, using his now free hand to travel up her other arm, just a gentle touch with his fingertips, until he reached her neck. He kept her firmly in place and kissed her, all pent up frustration from the last three months coming to surface. He had her plastered against him, and she could feel how much just the sight of her getting dressed had affected him. Or maybe it was the fact that her body was firmly pressed against his.

He release her arm, and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him even closer. The kiss was sweet, and light, but at the same time it carried enough meaning, enough passion. They stood there, kissing for a while, leaning against the counter, until they were both out of breath. But something clicked, within both of them. They both stopped running. Without saying a word to her, he placed both her unopened beer and the bottle opener on the counter, took her hand, and guided her to his bedroom. In his mind, he gave her enough time – and room - to decide she didn't want this, and walk away; to just let go of his hand and return to her own room. But Amy was in a trance now. There was no walking away. Not now, not ever.

He got her inside, closed the door, and pressed her against it, slowly, carefully. This, this was a slow seduction this time. His moves were very controlled and deliberated. There was nothing rushed, or desperate in his touch this time. He took his time kissing her, igniting a slow burn while he fought to control his body, his own desire. She was overwhelmed. Not just by his actions, but by her own feelings too. Her head was swimming, and she felt like… like liquid heat. He took forever to rid her of her t-shirt, lifting it inch by inch, and kissing every stretch of skin he uncovered. He growled when he remember she was not wearing anything underneath it.

He took a deep breath, and fought to control the impulse to just toss her on the bed, and instead, he slowly spin her around, and walked her to his bed, step by agonizing step. She was so caught up in his magic that she barely noticed he moved her until he back of her knee reach the edge of the bed, and she just let herself fall to the bed. Justin followed her down, settling himself between her legs. He continued his slow assault, and lavished her breasts, his hands travelling down her body, until he found the waistband of her shorts. He followed the same path of his hands, and slowly undressed her, his mouth kissing, stroking, lightly biting her tights, her lower legs, her feet.

She opened her eyes, and couldn't believe he was clad in only his boxers. She didn't remember undressing him, or a moment where his hands were not on her body, driving her crazy, for the state of undress he was in. But then he was traveling up again, and she couldn't help but close her eyes and moan when he reached her center.

Amy was so used to the fast pace of their lovemaking that this was driving her crazy. She felt she was too close to the edge since he pressed her against the door, but she was taking too long to take the fall. Too damn long. But every time she tried to rush him, he would slow even down. That bastard. When she felt that she would explode with frustration, when she reached her limits, he was inside of her, and she crashed. She had never felt so much pleasure at once. She cried out, his name, and held on for dear life. When she was almost there, ready to take the plunge, he stilled his motions, and took her face in his hands, asking her without words to open her eyes and look at him.

When she looked in his eyes, and saw so much emotion there, she just exploded. She barely heard her own voice, but Justin heard it as clear as water: "I love you". All thought of going slow disappeared from his mind. He kissed her fiercely, and gave up to his own desires and needs. He collapsed on top of her, and decided to stop running. He kissed her cheeks, her eyes, her ear, and whispered "Your mine now, no more running. I want it all this time, Amy… I want the strings, I want you in my bed every night, I want every single person in the world to know we're together. This is it." He said, and sought her eyes. "No more running" he repeated.

"No more running" She agreed, before sleep claimed her, and snuggle into his body, contently.

The next morning, they entered the base holding hands, and almost shocked most their friends when they parted with a discreet kiss. Dylan and Andrew were speechless, but Tristan just smirked.

"Took you long enough," he told them, before smacking Justin in the arm. "So, Amy, will you tell Rory or should I tell her the news tonight? She was very unhappy with me when she discovered that I knew a lot more than I was telling her…"

"Oh God, I'll tell her at lunch. I'll just swing by the paper at noon." She said, smiling.

"We'll tell her at lunch" Justin corrected, emphasis on the 'we'. "You're not going anywhere alone until those bastards are caught."

When Amy scowled at him, he continued. "Come on, doll. It's been three months, you should know that by now. Where you go, I go."

"Hey, at least now you can actually enjoy his company!" Dylan tried to joke, but immediately shut his mouth when both of them just turned their black stares at him. He raised his hands in an apologetic manner, and added. "Okay, sorry. Too soon. I'll save it for later" and went on with his day.

Amy was left alone for the remaining of the day, but Justin was practically interrogated by his friends. They all wanted to hear how that happened. In fact, Tristan was the only one who had an idea of what was going on between them, but Dylan was the only one who remember that first night he walked Amy home from the bar, but could barely believe she was the same girl.

This was news to Tristan, who thought that the first time they had hooked up was at his wedding, which meant that Justin was a lot sneakier that he thought. She must have made quite the impression on him that night, because Justin was not one to fall in love at first sight. Well, he liked Amy a lot, and thought she was quite a match for Justin. _This will be very interesting to watch,_ he thought.

He watched those two leave the base close to noon, to have lunch with Rory, and smiled. Rory will be happy about it. She loved Justin like a brother, and she had become fast friends with Amy, right from the start. Yeah, she would be very happy about it.

Time passed too fast, and before they knew it, the SEAL team caught up with the Syrian rebels, and apprehended the mastermind behind Amy's kidnapping. They had been living together for close to nine months now, and going steady for about 6 months when they got the news. They were both called up to the Colonel's office, and Justin was relieved of his bodyguard duties.

Not long after that she got a call from her boss, telling her she was expected back at Washington by the end of the month. Which gave her close to a week to move back. She was happy that her life was going back to normal, but a part of her didn't want to go home. She didn't know what to do. When they first got together, they avoided talking about it. They both knew that her position in North Carolina was temporary, that she would eventually go back to Washington. Well, fuck… they would have to talk about it now.

The ride home that night was filled with silence. They were both tense, very tense. Specially Justin. Of course, he wanted her to stay, but she didn't want her to stay just for him. They got home, and he went straight to the kitchen, to grab something to drink. He came back with two beers, and passed one to Amy. They both drank it in silence.

When he was finished, he put the bottle down, and looked her in the eyes.

"You should go." He said. "We knew you being here was temporary, and well, we were doing fine with the distance before. Before Syria."

"Are you sure? Because we could talk about it, work something out. I could look for a more permanent position here." She said.

"Well, it's good to know. But there's no need to rush. We can figure it out down the road." He said, and kissed her softly. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"I do", Amy said, and closed her eyes

"But your life is in Washington. You should go back, and we'll deal with it. We both travel a lot for our jobs, so we would have to deal with the distance any way. After a while, we'll reconsider. You can take your time looking for a permanent position here, or anywhere you like, and we'll see." Justin said. He'd be damned if he got in the way of her carrier. She was a damn good agent, and she deserved a chance to see where her job would lead her.

"I love you too, you know?" Amy smiled. "We'll see, then. I'll let the Deputy Director know I'll be back by the end of the week, then.

"I'll help you get settled." He said, and pulled Amy into his arms. They would make it work.


	9. The two year mark

**A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

* * *

Amy had been in Washington for almost two years now, and she and Justin were doing fine. Amy was busy, dividing her time between DC, New York and Raleigh. She was almost always on the road, but usually she would be back in a couple of days. She actually avoided long missions where she could be stuck for months, after what happened in Syria. Justin's deployments would sometime put him on the other side of the globe for months, but he would always do his best to stay somewhat in touch. Those missions usually took a toll on them, but their relationship was solid enough to see them through the dark patches.

Sometimes he would flight out to meet her, spend the weekend. Usually in New York. Those weekends were always fun, since most of the times he was in New York they would meet Jake and Finn for a couple of beers. But he had also met her in DC a couple of times. It would always start up as a work thing, and he would manage to squeeze a day or two to be with her. Those days were the best days, where they would spend the majority of their time in bed, making up for the lost time.

But it was working. So far, better than they were expecting. They had a long weekend ahead of them. The guys were planning a barbeque tomorrow, to celebrate the end of another tough mission. They had deployed shortly after Jake and Juliet's wedding, and just as it happened with that mission to rescue Cameron, almost 3 years ago, they had to leave with no short notice, no planning ahead. The girls were starting to think that weddings were cursed events in this little group.

They've been gone for close to two weeks this time, which was not very long, but long enough for the ones waiting for them. Amy had took a flight to North Carolina as soon as Justin told her he was leaving, so she could be closer to Rory and Sarah. Their friendship was one of the only things that got them through this ordeal, and they tried their best to be together when their husbands were deployed. Usually, Sarah and Amy did a lot better than Rory, they had a lot more experience with life in the military, but Rory was getting there.

Amy would stay for the barbeque, but she needed to be back in Washington that same day, she was taking the read eye home. The guys were busy with the grill, and Rory and Amy were still talking about Jake's wedding. More specifically, about Anna and Logan hooking up at Jake's wedding. Jake still knew nothing about it, but Rory has seen the two of them leaving together, all hot and heavy. She was still debating if she should tell Jake, because he was very overprotective of his sister, and well, Logan was Logan, after all. She still hadn't heard back from Anna, or Logan for that matter, so she didn't know if their tryst had continued after the wedding. So far, the only other person who knew about that was Amy, because she had caught Rory flabbergasted while she was waiting to Tristan and Justin to bring the car around so they could all go home.

So they were currently sitting at Rory's porch, while they waited for their sandwiches, and having a whispered conversation. They stopped talking when they saw some movement on the porch, and they both smiled when Justin approached them.

"Can I steal Amy for a while? I know you two are probably discussing very important matters, like national security important, but I missed my girlfriend these past weeks, and word is she's abandoning me today." He said, smiling. He took her hand when Rory just smiled widely, and pulled Amy to him, and they left the porch in each other's arms. Rory stood that, just watching them walk away. She was very happy for the two of them, but she couldn't help but think that someday, sooner or later, this long-distance relationship was going to kick them in their asses.

She knew that Tristan was studying making a change. They were talking about having kids, talking about starting a family. They were still not trying, not yet. She needed to have her annual check-up before trying for real. But she knew that talking about starting a family with Tristan meant a change in his carrier too. So he was weighing his options, talking with his superior officers, looking for a change. She knew it would take a while, and they were not in a hurry, but the important thing is that they were talking about it. Maybe that change would also be good to Justin. Maybe it would put them on the path for their own reevaluation.

This was how Tristan found his wife, sitting alone in the porch swing, watching Justin and Amy walking away together.

"You're worried about them?" He asked, knowing his wife.

"Not worried, worried. More like thinking that it must be tough, this long distance thing between them." She said.

"Well, you had experience with it. What do you think?" He asked, thinking back about Rory's past relationship with Logan. It still turned his stomach, thinking about her with anyone other than himself, but he could actually say Logan's name out loud without flinching nowadays.

"It was totally different. We had a time frame, I knew when he was coming back, so it was easier. Well, at least they get to see each other with some frequency, when Justin is not overseas." She said. "I just think that, one day or another, they are going to realize that they will not be able to do that forever. I mean, don't they want to get married, start a family?"

"I don't know, babe. I mean, Justin comes from a family who's been in the Military for generations. He's kind of used to seeing their lives arranged to accommodate it. So it's easier for him then it was for me, I think." He said. "And Amy has some experience in that area too."

"Also, they are both very carrier driven, and both very stubborn. They will figure it out eventually." He continued.

"Did Justin ever talked about him and Amy with you?" Rory asked.

"Well, sometimes. Usually after I threaten him with bodily harm to make him talk." Tristan joked. "They are both very private people, but I wouldn't worry about them." He said, pulling his wife to her feet and walking her back to the party.

Meanwhile, Justin and Amy were on their way home, with no idea at all that their friends were talking about them. They were in their own bubble. It was not unusual for them to not see each other for two or three weeks, but it was always harder on them when those weeks were spent on missions overseas. Especially when Justin, and not Amy, was the one to deploy. He was a damn fine soldier, and an expert sniper, but his job took a toll on him. He was very aware of that, and he would always search for comfort in Amy's arms when he got back.

Even his friends noticed that. Even since they started dating, he has been ditching his friends as soon as his feet were on the ground. Before, he would let up some steam on the boxing ring, or running a few miles. They would work out until they were not so restless, and then go for a couple of beers on the local bar. They would joke around, and talk about mundane stuff, and put those nightmares behind them.

Tristan was the first one to break the pattern, and then Andrew joined them, and he was already married when he started. Now it was Justin. Which left Dylan, Aaron and Kent the only bachelors who still made good use of the gym equipment on the base.

"So, how are you doing, Soldier?" Amy asked. He had avoided this conversation since he came back. He had a haunted look on his eyes, like he usually did after a mission.

"Good, considering how I spent the last couple of days." He told her truthfully, after a couple of seconds of silence. "It takes a toll. Every life we take, I take, takes a toll." He told her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked. She didn't know the level of clearance from this mission, and she would always wait for him to tell her, if he could. She was a high ranking FBI agent, so she had a pretty high clearance. There were very few missions where she would need to be kept in the dark, and she was usually okay with that.

"Not really." He said. They were both silent for a while. "He had a kid, Amy. And he was using her as a human shield, _his_ human shield. She couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old, and she was scared out of her mind."

"You had no choice…" She said, hugging him. They were practically home, just a few steps, actually. But she was in no hurry to get inside. She knew he needed to talk, so she waited him out.

"I had no choice." He repeated. "He was going to kill her, either way. There was no time to even warn her of what we were about to do. I knew that, if we didn't stop him, she was not going to be the only kid murdered. They were ready to blow the whole school. A children's school. It didn't matter to him that she was his kid."

"I know." She said, softly. "You did what you had to do."

He was silent for a while, and she just stood there, hugging him to her, waiting for him to finish talking about it.

"It was a head shot. He dropped as soon as I fired, and Dylan got the girl out before she could register that her father was dead." He said.

"And the school?" She asked, wanting him to get it all out.

"Evacuated on time. We had Aaron, Andrew and Kent ready to take the children out, even before I was positioned. Dylan was covering them, and Tristan was covering me. If we were a minute late…" He said, and took her face in his hands. He looked deep into her eyes. She could feel the haunted look he was sporting. It would take some time for the memories to fade away, she knew. But she would be there to help him.

"I'm proud of you, Lieutenant." She said. She got on her tiptoes, and kissed him, telling him without words how much she loved him.

He kissed her back, slowly maneuvering them to his front door. He blindly reached for the door handle, taking him a couple of tries to get to open the door, but he managed to get them inside. He needed her, he needed her to help erase those memories, and create new ones. He wanted to ask her to marry him, but he thought it was too soon, still. He could wait a while longer. He would first broach the topic of her moving to North Carolina again. But not now. Now, he would concentrate of getting her undressed and under him. He missed her.


	10. The big breakup

**A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love. This is a companion piece to the Epilogue of "When You Least Expect"**

* * *

They had arrived at the base almost an hour ago, and the guys were all scrambling to call their wives, or is Justin's case, girlfriend, to tell them they were safely home. Justin knew she was in North Carolina, because she would always come to stay with Rory and Sarah when they were deployed. It was their way of dealing with it: staying together, supporting one another. Tristan left Justin in charge, and went home as fast as possible to see his wife. He had some very good news to tell her.

Tristan was promoted, at the end of their assignment, and was now part of the unit's own intelligence detail. Major Tristan DuGrey, head of the intelligence detail. No more overseas missions, no more deployments with almost no warning. He was still going to be based in Raleigh, and he was still going to be in direct contact with what was now Justin's Rescue Team, but with a new set of duties. And Justin was now Captain Meyer, and as of tomorrow, Commanding Officer of the unite.

In fact, this change came in the perfect time for Tristan, who got home to a sleeping Rory, and a bunch of positive pregnant tests. He couldn't be happier. They were trying to have a baby for almost two years now, and the timing couldn't be better. After being married for four years, they were ready to start a family.

Justin was also ecstatic about his set of news. Captain Meyer had a nice ring to it. He just wished he would be as good as Tristan was in this position. They had already started training Dylan to take his place, as the unit's sniper, and his second in command. And they would soon need to look for a replacement, to complete the team. He called Amy, and went straight home, knowing she would be waiting for him there. This, this was it, he was finally going to do it. Ask her to marry him. It's been three years, and he was in a nice place now, carrier-wise. It was time to start thinking about the future. They could be married by the end of the year.

Amy had her own set of news to share when he arrived. As soon as Tristan got the go ahead to assemble his intelligence unit, the first name he pitched to his superiors was Amy's name. She was a damn good agent, an even better linguist, and she had a lot of experience with intelligence analysis. Both their bosses waited no time at all to call Amy, who accepted it on the spot. This meant that she would be moving to North Carolina shortly. She would relocate to the FBI office in Charlotte, again, but this time she would be a permanent part of the new task force.

Justin though that this was the perfect moment. She would be moving in with him by the end of the month, by the looks of it. They could finally make it official. Well, he couldn't be more wrong. He made her diner; they talked about all the changes that were going to take place. She went to the kitchen to get the desert, and when she got back, she found Justin down on one knee, a ring box in his hand. That's when all hell broke loose. He couldn't believe he had been this stupid. It looked like he wasted three years of his life in a relationship that was going nowhere.

"What do you mean, you can't?" He asked, bewildered. He did everything right. He waited, until he was in a good position in his life, he got the ring, he proposed. What the hell did he do wrong.

"I can't! I just… can't. Why can't we leave things like they are now?" She asked. She couldn't believe this was happening to her.

"Because I want more. I want a family, I want the happily ever after. Don't you?"

"I want to be with you. Isn't that enough? I'm not really a marriage kind of girl…" She said.

"What the hell does that even mean, not a marriage kind of girl?" He asked her, bewildered. Sure, they never talked about marriage and kids before, but they talked about the future plenty of times. How the hell did he not pick up on that?

"What difference does it make? It's just a piece of paper. It doesn't mean anything."

"Well, it does to me, Amy." He retort, angrily. He got up, and paced the apartment, looking for a way to persuade her.

"Why can't we leave things as they are? I'll move in, by the end of the month, and we'll be together, like we planned. We'll practically be working together. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I wanted to have a life with you, Amy. Start a family. I don't want to leave thing the way they are. Sure, you'll move in, we'll be together, but eventually, I'm going to want more, and I'm going to ask you to marry me. If you're going to say no, why bother?" He told her. This, this is insane. She was insane.

"What do you mean 'Why bother'? Don't you love me? Isn't that enough?" Amy asked, tears gathering in her eyes, and threatening to spill.

"Yeah, I do love you Amy. But it's not enough. Not for me. Not if you're not willing to marry me, down the line." He told her, giving her an ultimatum, even if it was not all spelled out.

"I'm sorry. But I don't know if I'll ever want to marry. I don't know how to settle down, I don't like to have my life all mapped out for me." She babbled. She didn't know what to say, she didn't want to lose him, but she couldn't bring herself to just agree to marry him.

"Settle down? Marrying me is settling down for you?" he exploded. He was so mad the thought of shaking some sense into her seemed like a good idea. He knew he would never lift a finger to her, or any other woman for that matter, he emknew/em that, but even so, he needed to put some distance between them, before he did something he would regret. "I think you should go." He told her.

"You're… you're kicking me out?" She asked, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. They had just decided to move in together, like 5 minutes ago, and now, now he was kicking her out. How did that happen? How did they get here?

"I asked you to marry me, to share a life with me. You said no. How can you think things would work out after that? How could you even want to stay here" He said.

"So, this is it. It's all or nothing?" She crossed her arms, as if trying to protect herself. She couldn't believe they were breaking up.

"You have to give me something here, Amy. I would understand if you said you're not ready, if you wanted to wait awhile. Move in, see how the new job would turn out. I'd understand if you said that you couldn't see yourself getting married now, but that maybe, in the future, it was something that we could work on." He told her. He was grasping for straws now. Anything that he felt he could work with. She had to give him something, anything.

"I can't do that… I'm sorry, I can't. I want to be with you…" She said. She was openly crying now, and they were walking in circles. "I really do."

"Well, that's not enough for me. That's not enough." Damn it. He was starting to cry too. He left the ring on the table, and went to his bedroom, closing the door after him. Amy stood there for a while, not knowing what to do. She finally sighted, picked up her purse, and got out. She could return for her things tomorrow, when he was not home.

She left Justin's apartment and didn't quite know where to go. Well, Rory's place was close by, she could spend the night there, and then decide what to do. She walked the few blocks, trying to stop crying, and reach their house in less than 10 minutes. She sat down at their porch swing, trying to compose herself before she knocked on Rory's and Tristan's door.

"Tristan answered the door, since Rory was sleeping. The joyful news wore her out, and after celebrating the fact that they were finally going to have a baby, she fell asleep in his arms. He was almost dozing off too when he heard someone knock on the door.

"Amy? What are you doing here? Are you okay?" He said, when he saw her face. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying, she was clutching her purse like a lifeline, and looking absolutely dejected. She tried to speak, but she opened her mouth, and no sound came off.

Tristan opened the door for her, walked her to the couch and went to get her a glass of water. What the hell had could have happen in the three hours that passed since they arrived?

"What happened, honey?" He tried again. He was _this_ close to calling Justin and asking what the hell did he do. This had got to be about Justin. He knew those two loved each other, he knew they belonged together, and he couldn't fathom what could have happened. Unless… unless Amy didn't accept his offer to work for him. Maybe it was that. Maybe they had a fight because she had a chance to move here, and wasn't taking it, and they got tired of the long distance relationship.

"We broke up." She said. "And I… I don't have anywhere else to go." She said, and started crying again. "I… I need to find a place to stay, until I can find a house here." She continued, she hated to cry, especially in front of others. She needed something else to focus on.

"I'm so sorry Amy." He said, and hugged her. _What the hell? What do you mean you two broke up?_ He thought, but couldn't say it aloud. "Wait, you're moving here? Does it mean that you've accepted by proposal?" He asked, confused.

"Yeah, that was a no brainer. I mean, we could really make a difference with this task force. And well, when I accepted it, I thought that Justin would be happy… "she started, but couldn't go on. God, she was a mess.

"What happened tonight, Amy?" He asked her again. He didn't want to prod, but he wanted to help her. Help them.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I don't really want to talk about it. I just need a place to sleep. I won't bother you and Rory, I promise." Amy said.

"Of course you can stay. Stay as long as you want. You could never bother us, Amy." Tristan said truthfully.

"Thank you, Tristan." She said.

"Come on, let's get you settled." He said, and walked a dejected Amy to their guest room. He'll deal with Justin tomorrow.


	11. Lilly's first birthday

**A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

* * *

They didn't speak for almost one year, until Lilly's first birthday. And they were driving their friends nuts with their break-up and never-ending fight. They avoided each other as plague, usually timing they arrival at events where they were both invited at different times, in order to avoid each other. Thankfully, they rarely needed to work together, although she believed Tristan had a hand on this, and when they did, they managed to be civil to each other. Most of the time.

Rory asked Amy, relentlessly, what had happened between them, but other than saying they had a difference of opinion, she refused to discuss it. She was furious with Justin, but mostly, she was furious with herself. She couldn't bring herself to tell anyone the truth, that she was scared. She came from a broken home. Her parents had split up when she was a kid, and fought over her all the time. Her father was a Lieutenant, in the Navy, and her mother was a typical military wife. She had gotten married three times after her first divorce, but at least, she hadn't had any more kids. Her father never married again: Once was enough, he used to tell her. She knew that the real problem was that her mother was incapable of being faithful, especially with husbands that used to travel a lot, spending a lot of time overseas. And Amy was terrified that she would turn up like her mother.

So she avoided relationships, serious relationships, most of her life. That's it, until she met Justin. Justin managed to break through her barriers in record time. The upside of their relationship was that it was a long-distance relationship, which used to calm her fears, most of the time. Deep down, she knew she was nothing like her mother; she was extremely faithful, loyal to a fault. But still, the irrational fear made her really bad with relationships. She was already nervous about moving to North Carolina when she accepted that job, even more nervous about living with Justin. Sure, they've lived together for a while before, but that was different. He was ordered to stay close to her, and the circumstances made for a very volatile relationship.

So, she was already freaking out before he asked her to marry him, and when he did, she just… kind of froze. She couldn't do it, and couldn't explain why. She just couldn't. So she dealt with her fear the only way she knew how. By masking it as anger.

Tristan hadn't had much luck trying to talk to Justin too. He found the ring on the trash can, a little after a week, after they broke up, and connected the dots. Justin asked Amy to marry him, and she said no. He had no idea why, and since neither Justin not Amy were talking about it, he had no clue. He tried everything. He waited for Justin to open up to him, took him drinking, and nothing worked. He was running out of ideas to make him talk. He had no idea that Justin was going to propose to her, but he was so sure that, when he got around to doing that, Amy would say yes. So, right now, he had nothing to go on, to even guess what could have happened. He knew she had accepted his proposal for joining his team; his superiors had called him right away after she said yes.

Their friends were all sick and tired of Amyanf Justin's fight, but until Lilly's birthday, nothing any of them had done so far had any effect. Lilly's birthday had been a turning point in their non-existing relationship. There was no way either of them could avoid the party, and the duration of said party also didn't allow for them to be there at a different time. So they were advised to just suck it up and play nice. Tristan may not be Justin's CO anymore, but Justin did not dare to disobey an order like that. Missing Lilly's first birthday was non-negotiable.

Justin was the first to arrive, carrying a huge stuffed bunny for his favorite niece. Even though he as Tristan were not brothers by blood, they were brothers in every sense of the word, and Justin would always think of Lilly as his niece. She was a very cute baby, with wheat blond hair and blue eyes, a perfect mixture of her parents. She was dressed in a very cute pink outfit, probably a gift from Lorelai. Justin was pleased to see that the whole gang was there. Lorelai had arrived on Friday, and was spending the weekend. Luke had flown with Jake and Juliet on Sunday morning, and their arrival was shortly followed by Emily and Richard's arrival. Justin took a seat closed to Jake, and spent most of the evening talking to Rory's family.

Amy arrived with Sarah and Andrew, a couple of hours later, and Justin had to fight hard to avoid staring at her. She looked good enough to eat. She had her hair down, and she was wearing a pale blue dress that hugged her body perfectly. He was so entranced by her that he failed to hear what Lorelai was asking him. She had to poke him to get his attention, which off course caught the attention of the whole table. The awkward silence went on forever, until Luke took mercy on the couple and asked Rory if she needed any help with the party.

He managed to avoid her most of the party, but when the baby started to get tired, and their parents decided to end the party, there was no avoiding talking to Amy when she was the one holding Lilly when he was trying to say goodbye to Rory and Tristan. Rory, of course, had jumped at the chance and decided to ask Amy how she was getting home. Not that they hadn't known what she was trying to do, but one look from Tristan was enough to get Justin to ask if she needed a ride home. Damn Tristan and all the years they were trained to obey his every word without all did it by pure reflex nowadays. Amy politely declined, saying she was craving a walk after eating too much cake, and for a second time that night, an awkward silence followed.

They said their goodbyes, and Justin got into his car, but couldn't seem to get moving. And of course, when he did, he took off in the opposite direction of his home, following Amy's route to her place. He caught up to her in less than five minutes.

"Get in" he said, in lieu of a greeting. He didn't want to fight with her, but he also didn't want to let her walk all the way to her home, alone. Sure, they were fighting, but that didn't mean he didn't care for her.

"No thanks. I can manage just fine on my own." Amy answered, not liking his tone.

"I'm not arguing the fact that you can. I just want to see you home. Will you just get in the damn car. It's just a ride home." He said. _It's not like I'm asking you to marry me,_ he thought, but didn't say it. God, he was bitter.

Amy was so tired, that she had no energy to fight with him on that. "Fine," she said, and got into the car. She sat perfectly straight, and avoided eye contact at all costs.

"It was good to see you, Amy." Justin tried, after a couple of minutes of silence. He had missed her, a lot, since their break up.

"I've already got into the car, you don't need to keep chatting me up" she said, unable to avoid the bitterness she was feeling since she failed to agree to marry him.

"I mean it, Amy. I missed you." He tried again. He didn't want to get angry. He had already spent a lot of time getting angry with her, it didn't get him anywhere.

"Yeah, well, you were the one to kick me out…" She whispered, not wanting to sound like a baby, but even she knew she was failing.

"Not because I didn't love you. I just… I needed the distance. I asked you to marry me, and you said no. I _needed_ the space."

"Whatever…" she said, and looked away. It hurt too much to think about it. "It's not like _I_ didn't love you too…"

"Amy…" Justin started, but he didn't really know what to say to her, so he didn't say anything."

"Just drive, Justin. Just take me home." Amy said. She was willing herself not to cry. She was over him, over the whole damn thing. He would drive her home, and she wouldn't see him again, probably until Lilly turned two.

They drove in silence, and Amy rushed to open the door, get out of the car, and get inside her house before Justin could open his own door to walk her door. But Justin was quicker than her, and they both reached her doorstep at the same time.

"Just leave me alone, Justin." She said, and even she cringed at the juvenile tone.

"You don't need to act like a brat, just because I want to see you safely home." He said, getting angry again. He was trying to do the right thing, to be the gentleman his parents raised him to be, but Amy was not making it easy for him.

"I don't need your help. I don't want your help. And I'm not a brat." She said defiantly. The problem was she did that at the exact moment a crashing sound came from inside her house. There was no masking the worry in her eyes. The house was empty, there should be no sounds coming from an empty house.

"Were you waiting for company?" Justin asked, already getting into position to sweep her place. He immediately flashed back to those months he was ordered to shadow her because she was still a target to the Syrian militia. Before she could answer him, he had kicked her door open and was already inside. He was not wearing a gun today, since they were coming from a little girl's party, and he was off dutie, but he knew she used to store her backup piece under a loose floorboard near the door. He got down and silently got it open in a few seconds, and used that gun to clear her house. Her bedroom window was open, and the vase she used to keep by her bedside was crashed to the floor. He rushed to the open window, and was able to see a pair of teenagers running for their lives. He marched back to the living room, dialed 911, and reported what was most likely a couple of idiots trying to rob Amy's place.

He hung up the phone and found Amy glued to the door. She had the most astonished look on her face, and he didn't know if it was because they interrupted a robbery, or because he was the one to thwart it. When he made no move to leave, Amy found her voice, and ruined his evening.

"I think you should go, now." She whispered, her voice loaded with unshed tears. Her self-control all but abandoning her. For a brief second, she was terrified, thinking back to when she was kidnapped, and though she was going to be executed. She was still trying to calm herself, and Justin was not helping. She couldn't believe he remembered where she kept her backup gun, nor could she believe he would just retrieve it from her safe-place and use it to clear her house. She was so scared that she wanted him to put his arms around her and tell her everything would be all right again, as he did before. And that was why she needed him to get out of there. She couldn't bear to be near him and not be with him. She was this close to just humiliate herself and beg for him to hold her.

Justin took one look at her and knew that she was on the verge of tears, and didn't think twice. He took the three steps separating them, and engulfed her in a hug. He held her while she cried all over him. He tried to comfort her, without breaking any boundaries, but her soft body pressed to him was wreaking havoc with his mind. After a couple of seconds, his body just took over, and he picked her up and carried her to bed. They both didn't know who started the kiss, but neither of them were inclined to stop. They spent the night in each other's arms, and Justin was gone in the morning.

He ran into her 3 days after that, when he went to the police station to give his accounting of the attempted robbery at her house: the police had apprehended two suspects, and called both Justin and Amy to identify them. They left the station together, and ended up in bed again, and for the second time that week they avoided talking about it. This time, it was Amy who snuck out in the middle of the afternoon. It took a third time for them to be able to talk about it, and decide that there was nothing to talk about. They were not getting back together, nothing had changed. They were both two consenting adults who apparently had no control over their bodies when they were in the same room. And they both agreed that nothing good would come from letting their friends know about it.


	12. Sneaking around

**A/N: A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

* * *

They kept it for almost two and a half years. They were friendly enough when they were around their friends, to avoid suspicion, and they managed to get into a casual, no strings relationship without any of their friends knowing about it. For some people who dealt with Intelligence for a living, they were not too perceptive themselves. Sure, their friends were very relieved when they noticed that Justin and Amy could manage to be in the same place, at the same time and not kill each other, but they really never saw it coming. Justin absolutely hated it, all of it, but apparently, there was nothing he could do to change Amy's mind, and as hard as he tried, he couldn't stay away from her.

Most of the times, it was Amy who sought him out. Usually late at night, when she was feeling lonely, she would cave in and call him. But sometimes, when Justin came back from a tough assignment, he would be the one to call her, needing some company to deal with some of the things he did on the job. It was easier when they would meet by chance, usually when Rory and Tristan gathered their friends at their house. Justin would offer to drive her home, and always ended up spending the night.

Justin hated lying to his friends, especially lying to Tristan, and he did end their whatever that was more than once. But he couldn't help how he felt about her. He loved her, he would always love her. The last time he thought about breaking up with her, he remember a conversation with Jake and the guys, on one of their barbecues, when Rory asked Tristan to move in with her. Jake was talking about the time he and Rory were together, that it was never serious, even though he really loved her. He said something about Rory being afraid of falling in love and getting hurt again, so every time it got to close to being something real between them, she would pull back, and they would break up. He said something about having to play with the cards he's been dealt. He had thought Jake was crazy for putting himself through that, but he could see it now: That was exactly what he was doing. He wanted Amy, and if the only way to have her was this no strings thing, than that's what he would play with. For the time being.

That first year was a nightmare, but after he accepted that he was as crazy as Jake, things started to look up. The truth was, he was gone a lot, and even if they were together, they would see very little of each other. Maybe marriage was not the best option for him in the end.

They had their first fight after Tristan and Rory's wedding anniversary. Justin agreed to babysit Lilly for them, so they could have the night to themselves, and Amy decided to stop by. She played with the three-year-old little girl while Justin got her dinner together, and helped him give her a bath, and put her to bed. Lilly was a sweet little kid, and seeing Amy with her did something to him. He wanted that. He wanted a family, he wanted kids, he wanted a life with Amy. And he was stupid enough to pick a fight about it.

As soon as Lilly was asleep, he cornered her.

"So, what are we? What are we doing? Am I just your fuck buddy?" He asked, his voice loaded with an indifference that he wasn't feeling at all. He was seething inside.

"I think I prefer the term 'casual', or 'no strings attached' relationship. Friends with benefits sounds as childish as fuck buddy these days." She answered, not really wanting to have this conversation.

"So there is a relationship to you." He said. He was not asking, and she didn't bother with an answer. She could see he was angry.

"Come on, Justin. Do you really want to go there? Things are finally good between us, and…" she started, but was interrupted by Justin.

"Good? You think things are good between us? Are you serious?" He asked, incredulous.

"I…" she tried, but the look in Justin eyes stopped her short. She didn't notice that he had taken a couple of steps in her direction, and she was practically cornered. He looked like a lion stalking his prey.

"I'm crazy about you, yes, and as hard as I try, most of the times, I can't scape you. You have the power to drive me out of my mind, and because I _love_ you, I let you have things your way. But you have to know that this, this 'no strings' as you call it, this kills me. So, no, Amy. Things are not good between us." He said. He was practically on top her when he finished his speech, and Amy had nowhere to run.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Amy finally said, and those words were the last straw for him.

"Yeah, me too." He said, leaving her there, in the middle of his living room, rooted to the spot, and went into his bedroom. "Close the door on your way out." He said, without even looking at her.

Amy took a few minutes to gather herself, and walked out, the feeling on 'dèjá-vu' burning in her brain. She tried calling him a couple of days later, but it looked like he was screening her calls. She stopped by the Army Base a couple of times, to check if he was deployed on a mission or plain avoiding her, and saw him there. She tried to talk to him, and he was very polite, but he left it very clear that he was not on the mood to talk to her.

After a little more than 6 weeks, she decided to have lunch with Rory, and broach the subject of Justin. But Rory had some news of her own to share with her.

"I know you wanted to talk, but I'm dying to tell someone something that I should definetely not be telling. But Tristan is away in a business trip and I'm going insane here." Rory said.

"You know you can tell me anything, Rory! I'm all ears!" She said, thinking about the time Rory welcomed her into her house while she was looking for a place to live in Raleigh.

"I'm late." Rory said.

"You're… late? Oh my god. Were you guys trying?" She asked, holding Rory's hand on her own. She knew that they tried for some time to have another baby, and when nothing happened, she thought they gave up having another baby. They were very happy with Lilly, and she was a handful, anyway.

"No, we had given up already. I mean, I'm on the pill. And I'm never late. Never." She said." I know I'm supposed to talk to my husband about it first, before freaking out, but he's not here, and well… I didn't want to give my mom false hopes, you know?"

"Honey, I completely understand." Amy said, and motioned to the waitress. She tossed some bills on the table, probably a little more than she should, and pulled Rory up. "Let's go." She said.

"Where?" Rory asked, bewildered.

"To the drugstore, of course. We're going to buy a couple of pregnancy tests and know for sure." She told her, in that no nonsense tone of voice that usually get things done.

They went back to Rory's house, and were waiting for the 5 minutes to pass. Amy didn't know what to say to Rory, but she also wanted to help her, and getting nervous was the opposite of helping a pregnant lady. So she asked the one thing that was already on Rory's mind.

"So, how late are you?" Amy asked.

"Two weeks. If I'm pregnant, I should be… 6 weeks along." Rory said, doing the math in her head.

"Your wedding anniversary" Amy said, almost at the same time Rory thought about it.

"How do you know?" Rory asked, and she remembered that they left Lilly with Justin that night, and that he was in a foul mood when they picked her up. Tristan tried to ask him about it, but Justin just shut him out.

"I… Ah… I stopped by at Justin's when he was babysitting for you guys. We had a disagreement." She said, trying to be as evasive as possible.

"I didn't know you guys were seeing each other…" Rory tried, tiptoeing around the issue. Of course it was something to do with Amy. What else have the power to sour Justin's mood.

"We're not." Amy said, continuing in her mind _Not anymore, anyway_. "It was something work related. I needed some advice on a task" she quickly fabricated. She hated lying to Rory, but she didn't want to go there. Justin was not something she was ready to discuss with anyone.

"Didn't go so well?" Rory asked, believing the lie. In fact, she was not paying much attention to anything right now, but the results of those drugstore bought tests.

"Yeah, I didn't really like what he suggested, and he was not okay with my decision." She said, avoiding to go too far from the truth. Lies were better managed this way.

"You're a big girl, Amy. You can make your own decisions." Rory said, not realizing that the advice fitted the bill, neither its price.

"Well, honey, congratulations!" Amy said, peaking on one of the tests. "You're going to be a mommy again".

It was ironic, really, that the same night Amy managed to ruin things with Justin, Rory discovered she was pregnant. Again.

Justin managed to ignore Amy until Rory and Tristan invited them to lunch, almost four months after that fight. Amy knew what this lunch was about, but aside from Tristan and Rory themselves, she was the only one who knew about the baby. She saw Justin as soon as he arrived, but didn't immediately try to talk to him. She would wait until he had no other choice but hear her.

She was tired of fighting with her own feelings. Rory's pregnancy was a wake-up call to her. Seeing her friend so happy for the second time, just when her life was in a downward spiral, again, did something to her. She was an empowered woman, who knew what she wanted, and had no qualms about how to get it. So why the hell did she felt the need to sabotage herself? Well, no more.

Justin was pleasantly surprised by the news. He loved Lilly as is she was her own niece, and he would love her brother or sister as much as he loved her. He was taken aback when they commented that the baby had been conceived that night Justin was babysitting Lilly, and that made him look for Amy in the little crowd. Damn it. What was it with those DuGrey babies that needed to be conceived at the same time he and Amy broke up.

Their eyes crossed, and Amy gathered her courage and helf his gaze. She decided to talk to him that night, at all costs. She cornered him when he was leaving, and all but manipulated him to give her a ride home. It was a very silent ride, until he parked his car, right in front of her apartment entrance.

Amy wanted to say something, but she didn't know what, or how to say it. So she did the only thing she was good at. She pulled him to her, and attacked his lips. Justin, as always, was powerless to stop her, and kissed her back with equal fervor. But when she tried to straddle him, he stopped her.

"Amy, I should go." He tried. He was very close to losing his internal battle, and just resume their previous relationship.

"Please, Justin. I want you, I love you." Amy said.

"We've already been there, doll." Justin tried again, effectively pushing her away, and locking her hands with his, so she couldn't touch him, because she was driving him mad touching him like that.

"I don't want casual this time, Meyer. I want you, and if strings is what it need to get you, I'm okay with that. I'm tired of losing you." She said.

"Are you sure? Babe, don't mess with me…" Justin said, not wanting to believe her, and having his heart crushed again.

"I'm serious. I'm not ready to make it public, but I will be. Just… I need some time. But I promise you. Strings, commitment. Whatever you want. But please, just kiss me already." She pleaded.

He got her inside her apartment in record time.


	13. Outed!

**A/N: A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love. This chapter is a re-write of the one shot "outed", from When You Least Expect One Shots. This will make a lot more sense if you read chapter 3 "** **Shhh… You'll wake mommy…** **".**

* * *

It's been three weeks since Lilly's birthday, or three weeks since the four-year-old girl outed Justin's current relationship with Amy, even though the two had no idea they've been outed. Tristan was ready to call Justin and give him a piece of his mind for not telling him they were together, but Rory calmed him down. They would talk when they were ready, she had told him. Also, between Lilly and baby Sean, she didn't have enough time on her hands to worry about her friends "will they, won't they" drama.

But three weeks had come and gone, and they still hadn't said anything. Now that they had settled in a sort of routine with the children, Rory was getting tired of waiting for Amy to come to her, and Tristan was getting out of hints to give Justin that he knew something was going on without saying it aloud. They knew that those two loved each other; they still didn't understand what the hell had happened between them to break them up. None of them were talking about it, and it was a really weird year.

Rory was on the phone with Amy, making lunch plans for tomorrow, Sean was sleeping peacefully in his crib, and Tristan decided to take Lilly for a walk. He gestured to Rory that he would be back soon, and stepped out with his little girl. It was high time he paid Justin a visit.

The walk to Justin's place took close to fifteen minutes, and Tristan wondered if he should have called first. He knew Justin was home because they have left the base together at around 4pm, and it was not even 6 o'clock yet. He was about to know on his door when he noticed that Justin left the door unlocked.

Tristan slowly opened the door, thinking to call out to Justin, but before he was able to do that, Lilly rushed into the house, and went straight to the Kitchen. She opened the kitchen door and froze at the entrance, her little eyes as big as saucers.

Tristan saw the shock on his little girl's eyes, and rushed to her side. "What's wrong, Lillybug?" he said, kneeling beside his daughter, his attention so focused on the little girl that he failed to notice they were not alone in the kitchen.

Apparently, the first person to recover, and notice their presence in Justin's kitchen was Amy. She was mortified, of course, since she was sitting on top of the counter, wearing only Justin's uniform shirt, all buttons undone, and her panties. She silently cursed, which of course caught Tristan's attention. But before Tristan could say anything, and before Amy could make a move to cover herself, Lilly frowned, and asked, at the exact second that Justin left his bedroom, with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist:

"Why are you sitting on Uncle Justin's counter, aunt Amy?" The little girl said, not mentioning her state of undress.

Justin was speechless. For the first time in his life, he was out of words. He knew he should say something, hell, do something, but he was unable to think. Amy was half-naked on his kitchen, his best friend and his 4-year-old daughter were at the kitchen door, and he had nothing but a towel wrapped around him. It would be impossible to convince Tristan now that he and Amy were not together. He'd been trying to tell him for a little more than 2 months that he and Amy were sort of hooking up again, but every time he tried to say something, he'd chicken out, knowing that Amy was not ready for their relationship to be made public, andTristan was not going to buy that they had a "no strings" things going on. Hell, he didn't like to hide things from him either, but he already lost Amy once, we was not going to loose her again. With a quick peak of his best friend's stance, Justin knew that there was no way around it. He should have told him, and he was going to catch hell for trying to keep it from him.

Tristan kept his eyes on his daughter, and trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, for Lilly's sake.

"Fancy finding you here, Amy. Do I need to ask you to please cover yourself, or are you decent enough?" Tristan asked, and turned to his daughter. "Hey, Lillybug, do you want to go into the living room, so daddy can have a chat with Aunt Amy?"

"Sure, daddy, but shouldn't Uncle Justin put some clothes on, too, before coming into the kitchen?" The little girl innocently asked.

"I think uncle Justin should just step into the kitchen right now, while you go watch some TV, okay, honey?" Tristan smirked, and stood up, his eyes meeting Justin's across the room. "The adults will just have a little chat, here in the kitchen."

"I… Ah… I'll just…" Amy mumbled, starting to get down from the counter. She had already worked on a swift exit, while the boys had it out in the kitchen, like Tristan politely put it. Yeah, she would prefer to go back to Syriah than have this conversation with the guy who, in addiction to being Justin's best friend, and married to her best friend, was also her boss. But before she could move at all, she was interrupted by Tristan.

"You stay right where you are, Amy." Tristan said, thoroughly enjoying himself. He would not miss this opportunity to tease them, even though most of his frustation with the situation between them evaporated when he saw the 'deer caught in the headlights" expression in both their eyes. He turned around, wanting to face Amy, but quickly averting his eyes. "I suggest you button your shirt if you don't want me to see you naked. I sure wouldn't mind, but I have a feeling that Justin and my wife might". He joked. They knew he would never do that; he was a gentleman after all.

"Get out of my kitchen, DuGrey", Justin growled, finally coming to his senses. They were so not having this conversation with his girl half naked and his niece in the next room. God, he needed a beer, and it was not even noon yet. He would fill Tristan in later. Much later.

"I will, just as soon as someone tells me what the fuck is going on between you two." Trsitan retorted, trying to put at least a little anger in his voice, but failing miserably. "Thank God it was Amy half-naked in here, and not you. You'd scar poor little Lillyl for life with that scene." He continued, smirking at the fire in Justin's eyes at the mere mention of Amy's nakedness, "You know, you shouldn't leave your front door open, if you don't want to be interrupted."

"Fine, we're together. Are you happy now? Now, get out." Justin said,

"Together?" Amy and Tristan asked in unison.

Tristan looked from Justin to Amy, and back to Justin. Amy looked angry, but Justin was furious. Maybe it was time to leave them alone.

"Yeah, Amy. Together. We're together. I am sick of your paranoia, I'm sick and tired of lying to my friends, and I'm especially sick of hearing you tell them we're not together, really." He said, ignoring his audience, He took the remaining two steps separating them, all but running Tristan over, and pulled Amy from the counter into his arms, shielding her from Tristan's view with his body. He just snapped.

"Let's make something very clear here: you tell me you want to be together, that if strings is what it takes for being with me, than you're okay with that. You tell me you want me, that you can't leave without me, but that you need time to make it public. Well, guess what: time's up. Get over it. We're together, and we're telling people. And for the last time, DuGrey, Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. MY KITCHEN." He all but screamed in the end. Thank God Tristan was not his SO anymore, or he was going to catch hell about that too.

Trsitan just smiled. His work was done there. But of course, he couldn't leave without at least rubbing it in a little. After all, Amy pratically lived at his place after that big break up. He was sure that earned him at least a little teasing time.

"I hate to break it to you, Amy, but from the looks of it, you two are really together. I mean, it's 11 o'clock in the morning and you're half naked, pearched up on the guy's kitchen counter, what else would you be?" Tristan said, amused. When he heard Justin growling, he decided that it was enough. "Relax, Meyer. I am leaving. I'm leaving." He said, walking out of the kitchen with a smirk plastered at his face.

"Come on, Lillybug, let's go home and fill Mommy in".

It looked like Amy recovered quickly after hearing it. "Oh God", she said, and pushed Justin away. She frantically did the buttons from Justin's shirt as she chased after Tristan and Lilly, leaving a stunned Justin in the middle of the kitchen.

"You can't tell Rory, Tristan. She'll kill me if I'm not the one to tell her." She pleaded, thinking back at the last time she had hidden something like that from Rory.

"You had plenty of time on the phone an hour ago. Sorry, hun, but you missed your chance. My wife will _kill_ me if she knew I witnessed something like this and did not immediately tell her. And good luck trying to convince Lilly not to say anything, she already told us all about you two kissing when Sean was born." Tristan answered. He really didn't know which wrath would be worse:

"I'll tell her tomorrow, at lunch. I promise." Amy said,

"You'll tell her what, doll? Justin asked, still not ready to believe that Amy was over her issues. "And I swear to you if I hear the words 'hook up' or 'no strings' coming from your mouth, I'll not be very understanding." He said, sneaking his arms around her waiste, and pulling her closer to him again.

"Daddy? What does 'hook up' mean?" Lilly asked, tugging on his trousers. Of course, she didn't stay in the living room. Now he was really dead.

"I'll let you explain this one, Meyer. Including to Rory, when she asks me where her daughter came up with the word…" Tristan said, his voice dangerously low.


	14. Marry me?

**A/N: A look into Justin and Amy's relationship. A sequel to "When You Least Expect", with a few companion chapters from Amy's and Justin's point of view. This is what happens when you fall in love.**

* * *

"So, before Lilly found you sitting on Justin's kitchen counter last week, you've been together for what? Three weeks?" Rory asked. They were sitting at her porch swing, Rory was nursing Sean, and the guys were gathered around the grill in the backyard, preparing the barbecue, while Lilly was playing. Tristan was keeping an eye on their daughter, and Justin was running the grill with Dylan. Andrew and Sara were due to arrive at any moment.

"Yeah, actually, it was a little more than that. We've got into a fight when Justin was babysitting Lilly. We broke up again, but we made up after the announcement. So, kind of like… 5 months this time?" Amy answered. She knew that she should come clean, and tell her friend the truth.

"Oh my God! I can't believe you guys were together all this time and didn't tell us!" Rory said. She kept her voice down because of little Sean, so she wouldn't disturb hin. He was already dozing off.

"Yeah. Justin wanted to tell you guys, right from the beggining, but I was afraid that I was going to mess things up. Again." Amy said. "You guys were so happy about Sean, and I was afraid that I would never be this happy. I'm not very good at relationships." She continued, wringing her hands and looking away from Rory, as if she was confessing a great sin.

"Yeah, I noticed. But that's okay. You're a quick learner, you'll figure it out." Rory said. She understood Amy better than anyone did. She had done the exact same thing more than once. The Gilmore girls were known for running away. She immediately remember the fiasco that was her no strings attached relationship with Logan, and the holy hell she put Jake through when they were 'together'. She wondered if she should share it with Amy, although her friend new the basics about her past relationships, there were some common demons between them. Then, suddenly, something clicked. "Wait. You said this time? Five months this time?"

"Yeah…" it was all Amy said. She didn't want to tell her the whole story now, but it looked like she didn't really have a choice.

"And what did you said about having a fight? I remember you saying you guys argued about some work thing. I can't believe you lied to me!" Rory said. She must have been really out of it, not to notice that Amy was not telling her the truth. She was pretty good at picking up the signs. Pregnancy really messed with her wits.

"Yeah, I couldn't tell you the truth. I mean, we were not really together. We kind of hooked up a couple of times, but it was nothing serious. Not until a little after you got pregnant." Amy took a deep breath, and decided to just suck it up and tell her best friend everything.

"A couple of times? Since when?" Roy asked. Sean was dead to the world, sleeping soundly on the crook of her arm.

"Since Lilly's birthday…" Amy said, trying to be as vague as possible.

Rory was lost in thought, trying to place what Amy was telling them in chronological order. Lilly was the one to out them on her fourth birthday, telling them she saw Amy and Justin kiss when Sean was born.

"You've been sneaking around for over a year?" Rory asked, not really believing what her friend was telling her.

"More like close three years…" Amy said, "Since Lilly's first birthday." After a couple of seconds of silence, Amy chanced a look at Rory's direction. She have never seen her friend so flabbergasted. Rory was speechless.

"He walked me home that night, and there was a break-in in my house. He came inside to check if everything was all right, and it made me flashback to Syria. He saw how shaken I was, and before I knew it, I was in his arms again. We sort of lost control that night." Amy confessed. "We've never talked about it. I woke up and he was already gone. It happened again a couple of days later, when we ran into each other at the precinct." She continued, before Rory started yelling again, waking Sean up. "After that, we've hooked up a couple of times, usually when he got back from a tough assignment, or after some diner party or other gathering. But it was very far and few between. That is, until you got pregnant with Sean. That's when we really got together, even though we didn't tell any one." There was more to tell, but she could feel that Rory needed some time to digest what she just told her.

"I can't believe you. All this time?" Rory was still reeling. She didn't know if she should be happy for them or angry because of all the hiding and sneaking around. She hated that their friends felt the need to hide their relationship – or lack of relationship – from them. She wanted to say something, but she needed to cool down before she said something hurtful. And more importantly: she needed to tell her husband that his best friend was lying to him since their daughter's first birthday.

She got up, leaving Amy sitting at the porch swing, came inside to place Sean at this crib, picked up the baby monitoring thingy and marched up to where Tristan, Justin and Dylan were talking. She asked Dylan if he could help her bring out the rest of the food, and called Lilly, to see if she wanted to help. She wanted to give Justin and Tristan some space to talk. He ushered them inside the house, and before she left to follow them, she whispered something in Tristan's ear. What she said earned Justin a slap in the back of his head.

"Hey, what the hell? What's this about this time?" Justin asked, bewildered. Tristan almost never did that, unless he was really pissed at him about something. _What the hell did Rory tell him now. And where was Amy? Oh fuck._ He thought.

"This? This is for not telling me that you and Amy had been sneaking around since Lilly's first birthday." He said, although he was not really mad with Justin. He was mad at himself for not figuring it out sooner, when those two started to talk again, out of the blue. He should have seen in coming. He was, after all, head of an intelligence unit. It was his job to pick up on those things. It was right under his nose, and he never saw it coming.

"Amy told Rory…" he said. He wanted to tell Tristan the truth, but the rest of the week had been pure chaos. He had flown to DC the same day Tristan and Lilly walked in on him and Amy at his house, for a debriefing of his last mission, and he only came back yesterday night.

"You could have said something, you know right?" Tristan told him.

"I know. It was not that simple. We were not really together for most of the time. Every single time it happened, I would swear to myself it would be the last." He told his best friend.

"Yeah, and how did that work out for you?" Tristan smirked. He knew Justin, he had very few serious relationship. Sure, he had his fair share of first – and second - dates, but he was not one for casual relationships, not like this thing he had with Amy. If he didn't have strong feeling for the girl he was dating, he preferred to just be alone. But this things with Amy messed him up from the beginning.

"Not good" Justin answered, smiling slightly. "I knew that if I told you, you would tell me to just grow a pair and talk to her. And I was afraid that if we talked, we're end up breaking up again. Which is exactly what happened.

"Ah, so that's what happened when you were babysitting Lilly on our anniversary." Tristan said. It all made sense now. And it also made him feel very, very stupid.

"Yeah. It took Amy a while to just suck it up and admit she wanted the strings. We've been together since. I was dying to tell you, but Amy kept saying she needed more time to come clean, to adjust to the idea of being in a relationship. I will never understand how can she be as good an agent as she is: fearless, bordering on ruthless sometimes, and be so afraid of admitting she's in love."

"Yeah, she's not very good with relationships. You'll got to be patient with this one." He said. It's been almost twenty years since he left Hartford, but some things were unforgettable. He was more than used to people being afraid of real relationships. He could write a book on it. Hell, Rory could give lessons too. He smiled, thinking about how far they've come. All of them.

"I noticed. It took me a while to figure it out, but after meeting her family, it was pretty obvious. Her parents' divorce and her mother's subsequent marriages messed her up." He told Tristan. Amy was a very private person, but Tristan needed a full background check when he offered her the position she was currently occupying in his team. He had known for a while that her parents were divorced, and that her mother remarried a couple of times after that. And he also knew the grounds for most of her divorces. He wondered if he should have told Justin what he discovered about Amy's family, but decided not to say anything. He didn't want to meddle.

"Yeah, I can imagine" Tristan said, not wanting to get into what he knew about Amy's family.

"She finally talked about it." Justin said. It was good to be able to talk to Tristan about Amy. He hated keeping secrets, and he hated not being able to talk things through with his friend.

"She should talk to Rory. She had a lot of experience with people with bad relationship karma." He told him. "So, you two are good now?" He asked.

He noticed Justin hesitated to answer him, but decided not to prod. Justin would tell him when he was ready. Or after a couple more beers.

"Yeah. I think so. We'll see." He asked, avoiding eye contact. Which was all his best friend needed to be sure that he was still hiding something. Justin mentally swore, noticing his own tell. He waited a second, to see if Tristan said anything, and when he didn't, Justin whacked his friend on the shoulder and motioned to where he imagined Amy was.

"Well, I'm going to see how she's doing." Justin told his best friend, and got up to check on Amy. He found her on the porch swing, exactly where Rory left her. He sat down next to her, and held her hand. They stood there for a while, in comfortable silence, until he asked her.

"So, did you have time to think about it?" He noticed that she failed to talk to Rory about more recent developments in their relationship, because if she did, he was sure Tristan would have said something. Those two had been too invested on their relationship for not telling each other something like _that_.

"I did" she smiled. "I was going to talk to Rory about it, but she started asking questions about when we got back together... She got a little madder than I predicted, and just walked away before I could tell her everything." She confirmed what he had just told himself.

"If you still need to talk to her, or anyone else, about it before answering my-" He started, but she interrupted him, kissing him on the lips. It was a sweet, little kiss, a lot different from the ones they use to share. She closed her eyes, and wrapped her hands around his neck, and sighed. She ended the kiss a lot sooner than he would have liked, and snuggled up to him, practically hiding her face in his neck.

"Yes…" she whispered, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

"Yes, you want to talk to her?" He asked her, not fully understanding the meaning of her words.

"Yes, I'll marry you."

* * *

 **A/N: I can't believe I'm reaching the end of this story... *insert sad face here*. Well, I still have the epilogue to write: I have it all planned out, I just need some quiet time. .**


	15. Epilogue

**N/A: This is going to be short and sweet.**

* * *

"June 1st" Amy said.

"June 1st? Are you sure? June 1st is like... in two months! Why do you want to get married in two months?" Justin asked her.

"Because... I just want to be married to you. Soon. Very soon." She said, avoiding the truth.

"Well, let's go down to the City Hall and get married tomorrow then" He said, even though he knew his parents were going to kill him for that one.

"I don't want to get married at City Hall. I want a real wedding." Amy insisted.

"A real wedding?" he asked her again.

"Yes".

"In two months?" He insisted.

"Yes."

"Then tell me why?" Justin put his foot down.

They've been engaged for 2 weeks. Two weeks where he asked Amy about their wedding plans and she said she just wanted to enjoy being engaged. Now she said she wanted to get married. In two weeks. He was not buying. Either she was afraid of changing her mind and bolting again, or she was not telling him something. She was okay after he asked her to marry him, and she said yes. She started acting weird a couple of days after that, but he figured she was just nervous. Now, he was not so sure.

"Why can't you believe I just want to be married to you?" She asked.

"Because there's no way we'll be able to organize a real wedding in two months. And you know it. Even if we had the time to focus on the wedding, we wouldn't be able to pull that out. With your job, and mine, we would need at least a year to put a wedding together. So, no, I really do not believe you. Spit it out, Amy."

Amy face was ashen. She was on the verge of a panic attack, and Justin knew it.

"Tristan and Rory were married in two months" She tried.

"We're not Tristan and Rory. And we do not have Lorelai to put a wedding together on such short notice. My mom will kill me if I do not let her help us this the wedding plans. We need time, at least a year from now, Amy."

"We can't wait a year to be married. Your family will hate me." She blurted out.

"Why would my family hate you? Yeah, my mom would probably kill me for suggesting we get married at City Hall, or eloping. But she would not hate you." Justin said.

"Trust me, she would. She might. She will." Amy said, trully worried.

"Amy. My mom loves you... She..." He started, and back tracked. "I mean, she likes you. She doesn't really know you, but she would love you if she knew you. She will love you."

"She'll hate me, Justin. She'll think I'm forcing you to marry me..." Amy said.

"Why would she think that. I was the one to ask you. You didn't even want to get married. If anything, she'll hate me for forcing your hand" he started. "and for lying to her, and for not telling her we were together. Crap. My mon will tear me apart. Let's not mention this part. But she knows I've asked you, doll."

"It doesn't matter. She'll know either way..."

"She'll know what, Amy. For the love of God, what has goten into you.?"

"I'm... I... I'm sorry" Amy run from the living room. She bolted. He was waiting for that to happen, and he hated that he was right about that. He went after her, but Amy just slamed the bathroom door on his face. He tried to get his temper under control, because he didn't want to pick a fight with her. He moved to open the door, but Amy was quicker.

"Sorry. False alarm." She said.

"False alarm?" Justin frowned, and then something clicked. He needed to sat down.

"Your..." he started.

"Pregnant." Amy said.

"You're pregnant". Justin repeated. "Oh crap. We need to get married." He said, thinking about his traditional family, and his catholic mother.

"We need to get married." Amy repeated.

"Yeah, like, yestarday. You're pregnant?" He asked, again, just to be sure.

"I am. I think." Amy said.

"You think?" Justin got up from the floor. "What do you mean you think? Amy, don't mess with me like that." Justin said.

"I could be wrong. I mean, I took a home pregnancy test. But I haven't seen a doctor yet, so it can be a fluke."

"Really? You think it can be a fluke?" Justin asked, he felt like his brain was melting inside his head. He didn't know if he wanted kids or not right now, so why was he feeling disappointed that it may be a fluke?

"No, I don''t. I'm sure I'm pregnant. But you're freaking me out." Amy said. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry. She was going insane.

"We need to see a doctor. We'll see a doctor, and then we'll get married." Justin said.

"But not at City Hall." Amy said again.

"Okay." Justin said. He walked to Amy, and pulled her into a massive hug.

"You're pregnant." He said, kissing her hair.

"Yeah."

"And we're getting married." He continued.

"Yeah."

"And... we're happy?" He ventured a look into her eyes.

"I will be... once we're married, and you mom doesn't hate me."

"You do know she'll figure it out right?" He asked. "Wait, you said you took a test. When did you...?"

"Last week... I, I noticed I was late the day before you asked me to marry you. But it was too soon to take a test."

"So... you, what, suspected it, for two weeks?" He asked. Then he got worried. "That's why you agreed to marry me?" He needed to ask. He didn't want to know the answer, but he had to ask.

"No... I said yes because I love you." She answered quickly. "I didn't freak out when you asked me, because I thought I might be pregnant. That was already freaking me out."

"You... do you realize you said you love me?"

"I... did. I said that before, didn't I?" Amy asked him, confused.

"Yeah, you did. When we were having sex. Or when you wanted sex, and we were in the middle of a fight. Is this a fight? That's why you said you loved me?" _Fuck._ Justin tought. _I'm freaking losing my mind now._

"We're not fighting. We're getting married. And we're having a baby." Amy said. "In this order".

"We're not fighting?" Justin had to ask again. He felt like a parrot now. A parrot with melted brains.

"No. I really do love you, Meyer. Please, snap out of it. I thought you were trained to act in dire circunstances, and not panic."

"I love you, smart mouth." Justin said, smiling.

"I know." Amy was smiling too.

"We're having a baby..." Justin said, as if still trying to believe it.

"We're getting married. Then we're having a baby." Amy corrected.

"I'll call Rory's doctor. See if she can squeeze us in for an appointment." He said.

"I can do that, Justin." Amy said, but didn't move from his arms.

"I know. You can also get ready, because as soon as she confirms she has a window, we'll go to the hospital."

"Call first. Get ready latter." Amy said. Justin lowered his head to kiss her, and she met him half way.

* * *

"Twins?" Amy asked, flabbergasted.

"Twins, dear. You can hear both hearbeats. Both babies are strong. Healthy. Like their mother." The doctor said.

"Twins..." Amy repeated... She turned to Justin, to see how he was doing with this information, and found her fiancé with tears in his eyes, looking at the monitor.

"My Mom is going to love you, doll" He said.

"She will?

"Yeah. Not as much as I love you right now, but she'll love you. She's going to be a grandmother. Yeah, she'll love you."

"And you?" Amy asked, smiling.

"I love yo too." was all Justin answered.


End file.
